DENTON, Texas - That adage about having bad luck as opposed to no luck at all?
It's still hanging there, hovering like a cloud over UL's Athletic Department every time the Cajuns prepare to host one of the Sun Belt Conference's major events.
The Sun Belt Conference Torunament begins Saturday at the Cajundome. UL's men won't be taking part, courtesy of the Cajuns' 93-78 loss to North Texas here Wednesday.
It's what most fans feared, but expected, most of the season, UL's late-season improvement notwithstanding. The fear became a reality midway through Wednesday's first half when UNT's Kendrick Davis realized who the guys were in the red jerseys.
Davis, a Cajun killer for the last two seasons, had 18 points in the game's first 15 minutes and the rest of the Mean Green followed his lead on the way to a 50-point first half.
It didn't help much that game officials Kelly Self, Brad Ferrie and Jeff Malham let the game sink to NBA levels for a five-minute period in the first half. Traveling became non-existent - one replay showed a full three steps on Michael Sturns' fake-behind-the-back layup - and one "continuation" three-point play would have made "Magic" Johnson proud.
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Dan McDonald
dmcdonald@theavertiser.com