OREM, Utah – Utah Valley began the second half shooting 8-of-9 from the field to spark a 22-4 run which helped the hosts extend an 11-point halftime lead and coast to a 71-41 victory over Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns men’s basketball team here Saturday evening at the McKay Center.

La’Ryan Gary made a layup with 18:57 remaining to trim the Cajuns deficit to 36-24. Turnovers and missed shots kept the Cajuns off the board and UVU rattled off 13 consecutive points to put the game out of reach at 49-24 with 14:47 left to play.

UVU (3-0) shot 25-of-53 (47 percent) from the field including 13-of-22 (59 percent) in the decisive second half. The Ragin’ Cajuns (0-3) finished 15-of-49 (31 percent) and were held to single-digit field goal makes in each half.

Louisiana was led by Travis Bureau’s 15 points. Gary chipped in nine points and Tyren Johnson scored seven.

Utah Valley received a game-high 19 points from Josh Olsen. Ryan Toolson (14 points) and Tyray Petty (10 points) joined him in double figures. The trio combined for 14 of UVU’s 25 field goal makes.

UVU started the second half shooting 3-of-4 and used a 7-2 run to open a 16 point edge less than two minutes into the half. Baskets from Jordan Swarbrick and Toolson only 22 seconds apart upped the hosts lead to 40-24 with 18:08 remaining.

A pair of Cajuns turnovers inside of 18 minutes kept the lead at 16 points. After the second turnover, Olsen made a three-pointer at 16:47 pushing the edge to 43-24. Jeremy Barr missed a baseline jumper and UVU received an inside basket from Justin Baker at 16:21 to push the lead over 20 points (45-24).

The Cajuns committed two more turnovers – two of five in the first five minutes of second half – and UVU increased its run to 13-0 to take a 49-24 lead with 14:47 remaining.

Louisiana broke the Wolverines’ run with a running hook shot by Gary at 14:21. UVU responded with back-to-back three-point makes to increase the lead to 55-26 at the 13:21 mark.

The Ragin’ Cajuns found a scoring binge of its own following the 11-minute media timeout. Bureau hit triples on two straight possessions to trim the deficit to 55-32.

After UVU made back-to-back inside shots, Louisiana rolled off five unanswered beginning with a Willie Lago layup at 9:28. After a defensive stop, Bureau found Johnson trailing on a fastbreak opportunity for a layup as he was fouled at 8:37. He hit the freebie and UL trailed 59-37 – capping off an 11-4 run by the visitors during a three-minute span.

The five-point spurt got the Cajuns the closest they would get the rest of the night. A Bureau foul and missed layup of his own led to four free throw makes by the Wolverines and the lead was stretched out to 26 points at 63-37.

The loss was the third straight to start the 2008-09 season for Louisiana. Utah Valley avenged last season’s 67-59 loss in the CAJUNDOME to even the all-time series at 1-1.

The Ragin’ Cajuns did extend their streak of holding opponents below 80 points in regulation to 28 consecutive games dating to last season.

The Cajuns missed their first five field goal attempts and the Wolverines made 5-of-8, which included a pair of triples from Olsen, for a quick 12-2 lead just 4:24 into the game.

Louisiana came out of a timeout with field goals on two straight possessions. Willie Lago rebounded a miss by Gary and hit a leaning jumper for the Cajuns’ first made field goal at 15:14. On the next trip down the floor it was Bureau hitting a basket at 14:47 to cut the UVU lead to 12-6.

After a Justin Baker hook shot in the lane at 14:31 made it 14-6, both teams went cold from the field as neither would score until the 10:53 mark. That’s when Petty grabbed an offensive board and was fouled as he made the putback. He completed the three-point play upping the Wolverines’ edge to 17-6.

Gary connected on a triple at 7:57 to slice the UVU lead into single digits at 19-10. A jumper from the free throw line by Solomon Jensen pushed the lead back into double figures 20 seconds later.

It was a 23-10 Wolverines’ advantage after a pair of freebies by Rory Fannon with 7:11 left in the opening stanza. The Cajuns rattled off a 6-2 run courtesy of Bureau who drained an NBA-range triple at 4:39 and completed a three-point play at the 3:00 mark and it was 25-16.

It took UVU only 27 seconds to send the lead back into double figures as Toolson hit a three-pointer on the right wing on the ensuing possession.

The Wolverines parlayed a Gary turnover at 1:26 into a running layup by Petty with 1:01 on the clock. That layup made it 31-18 and ensured the hosts would keep their double-digit lead at the break.

The Cajuns finished the final seven minutes of the first half shooting 4-of-7 and outscored the hosts 12-10. It allowed the Cajuns to stay within striking distance, down only 11 points, 33-22, at the break.

Louisiana shot 7-of-25 (28 percent) in the first half and was led by nine points from Bureau. UVU was 12-of-31 (39 percent) led by eight points from Olsen and six apiece from Swarbrick and Petty.

Louisiana returns to Lafayette on Sunday to prepare for a meeting with Oral Roberts on Tuesday, Nov. 25 in the CAJUNDOME. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:05 p.m., in what will be the team’s last game for the month of November.


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