The Book: 2007-08 Ragin' Cajuns Basketball

[CajunCherokee]

UNT is well on their way to beating ULM. So we only stay one game in front of UNT. Makes for an even bigger game next Thursday in the Dome.

[cjntgr]

The dome should be rockin' Saturday night!

[CajunCherokee]

I'll be in from Houston! Can't WAIT!

[cjntgr]

Im predicting around 8200 for the game.

[CajunCherokee]

Im predicting around 8200 for the game.

Yeah...

[cjntgr]

Ok, so that is a little high. If we can break 6000, we should have a great home court advantage.

[wcd35]

I just got back from the game. Wow what a game. It was absolutely great to be up by 15 the whole game, but you could see the comeback building when we started to get lazy and turn the ball over. Then of course with the terrible FT shooting.

In the end, I couldnt breathe until that last missed lay up was swatted back to the other side of the court to end the game. HUGE game by Gradnigo. He was hot from the start and even though he didnt score much towards the end, he was very influential in the game. Barksdale wasnt too bad stepping in at PG when he got the chance. Didnt turn it over like Lago. UNO missed so many easy shots too.

Crowd was packed (it is basically a high school gym.) It was UNOs homecoming. Not being too condescending, but it was pretty darn funny to see a homecoming king and queen selected on a basketball court.

Overall, huge win to stay on top. Should have been a bigger win, but we'll take it.

[NewsCopy]

NEW ORLEANS - Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns held a 16-point lead with 5:34 remaining, but had to hang on for a two-point victory at New Orleans on Wednesday night. Louisiana (13-13, 9-6) survived by a final score of 72-70, despite missing six of nine free throw attempts in the final two minutes. The loss drops New Orleans (17-10, 7-8) into third place, two games behind the first place Cajuns. UL will finish the season with three home games – one against each of the three teams tied for second place in the Sun Belt West. Elijah Millsap made a pair from the stripe to stop New Orleans' 13-0 run and end a Cajuns scoreless streak that spanned 3:20. The free throws gave the Cajuns a five-point lead with 2:14 remaining. Two minutes later, Millsap's offensive rebound put the sophomore at the line, where he would make both shots, giving the Cajuns a 72-68 edge with 13.8 seconds remaining. Bo McCalebb scored five seconds later to make it a two-point game with 7.8 seconds remaining. After the Cajuns came up empty on two free throws, UNO missed a lay-up at the buzzer that would have tied the game. Chris Gradnigo led the Cajuns with a career-high 25 points. Millsap had 12 points and 11 rebounds. Tyren Johnson, who swatted the ball away from the rim at the buzzer, finished with seven points and eight rebounds. After being held scoreless in the first half, McCalebb scored nine points in the first 4:11 of the second half to help UNO cut their deficit to 11 points. Millsap took over the next minute of the game. His offensive rebound and put-back preceded a block of McCalebb on the defensive end. Millsap then converted a running jumper in the lane to swing momentum toward the Cajuns. Gradnigo blocked a shot which resulted in a Courtney Wallace bucket on the other end, giving the Cajuns a 51-34 lead with 14:09 remaining. After a Privateers basket, Gradnigo buried a three-point basket to give the visitors an 18-point lead with 13:10 to play. The Cajuns then began to slow down the pace of the game. UNO couldn't get any closer than 16 points over the next five minutes – giving the Cajuns a nice lead with under eight minutes to play. A triple by James Parlow cut the UL edge to 13 points, 67-54, with 5:23 remaining and ignited a 13-0 run. The Privateers were within just three points with 2:30 on the clock. McCalebb finished with 18 points – five below his season average – and a team-high seven rebounds. Kyndall Dykes added 14 points. The Cajuns held a 41-25 lead at the break thanks to excellent defense. UNO shot just 22.2 percent in the first half as McCalebb missed all eight shot attempts and a free throw. UNO missed its first eight shots, but the Cajuns couldn't take more than a 5-0 lead thanks to three early turnovers. The Cajuns scored eight points on three straight possession to build a 15-4 lead. Triples by Randell Daigle and Gradnigo and a dunk by Travis Bureau resulted in the scoring. UL increased its lead as the Privateers continued to struggle. UNO started 2-for-23 from the floor, helping the Cajuns to a 28-9 edge with 6:46 to play in the first half. Once the Privateers found their shot, Louisiana had an answer nearly every time. Gradnigo had 18 first half points to carry the Cajuns offense to a 16-point lead after 20 minutes. Louisiana returns to the hardwood Saturday when the Ragin' Cajuns host the UALR Trojans in a critical Sun Belt West Division rematch from January's meeting in Little Rock. Game time is set for 7:05 p.m. at the CAJUNDOME. RaginCajuns.com

[NewsCopy]

NEW ORLEANS - With its old-school atmosphere, wooden-bleacher seats and dated interior, the Human Performance Center has rattled enough opponents to be nicknamed the "Chamber of Horrors." After leading by as many as 19 points in the first half, UL barely survived a tense finish in the archaic venue on the University of New Orleans campus Wednesday night. The Ragin' Cajuns led from start to finish and did enough to escape with a 72-70 win to extend their winning streak to three and remain alone atop the Sun Belt Conference's West Division. Chris Gradnigo set a career high and led all scorers with 25 points - 18 in the first half - for the Ragin' Cajuns (13-13 overall, 9-6 SBC). It was the freshman's third 20-point game this season as UL swept the season series from the Privateers. The rest of the story Joshua Parrott jparrott@theadvertiser.com

[Mineshaft]

_ Im predicting around 8200 for the game. _

You are on crack if you think 8200 will be at the game..