UL – Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns shot 71 percent in the first half to build up a 20-point cushion and coast to an 85-58 victory over Louisiana College here Saturday evening at the CAJUNDOME.

The win was the third straight for Louisiana (3-4) in the CAJUNDOME and third win in the last four games overall. The Ragin’ Cajuns remain undefeated (7-0) all-time vs. Louisiana College in the CAJUNDOME.

Travis Bureau led Louisiana with 15 points – all in the first half. He was joined in double figures by Chris Gradnigo who scored 12 points. In all, 11 different Cajuns made at least one field goal and scored at least two points.

For the game, the Ragin’ Cajuns shot 36-of-60 (60 percent) and shot above 50 percent in both halves. Louisiana outrebounded Louisiana College 45-16 which included a 31-11 edge in defensive rebounds.

Louisiana College (2-6) received a game-high 17 points from Josh Johnson. Ryan Meadows contributed 11 points off the bench.

The game marked the beginning of a season-high, four-game homestand for Louisiana which runs through Sunday, Dec. 21.

The Wildcats held early leads and each time Bureau hit a shot that put Louisiana in the lead. Both of Bureau’s makes were three-pointers with his second putting the Cajuns up 6-4 at the 17:24 mark. The triple came after 18 seconds after Johnson hit two free throws to give LC a 4-3 lead.

LC would draw within two points, 8-6, when Daniel Greenhouse scored an inside basket at 16:45. That’s when Louisiana scored 11 unanswered to push the lead into double figures for good.

It began with a Colby Batiste dunk off a feed from Gradnigo and it was 10-6 at the 15:31 mark. On UL’s next possession, Bureau made his third triple of the half. During the Cajuns’ next touch it was Bureau hitting a jumper in the left wing to increase the lead to 15-6.

The Wildcats missed a jumper on the ensuing possession and La’Ryan Gary was off to the races on a coast-to-coast layup which moved the lead into double figures. On UL’s next possession, Jeremy Barr made a hook shot in the lane at 13:12 to cap off the run and make it 19-6.

Louisiana’s lead would drop to 10 points at 9:31 when Jarrod Jackson hit a trey for the Wildcats making it 23-13. The Cajuns scored four quick points over the next 30 seconds to begin a 10-0 run and stretch the lead out.

Johnson stuffed home a miss by Barr at 9:18 and it was 25-13. After a missed triple by Jeremy Hollier the Cajuns pushed the ball back up the court where Barr was found for a layup at 9:01 upping the edge to 27-13 and forcing an LC timeout.

After the Wildcats’ timeout, Louisiana reeled off six more unanswered points and it was 33-13 with 7:15 left in the first half. During the stretch, Lamar Roberson scored a layup at 7:48 for his first points in a UL uniform.

The Cajuns’ run was broke by a Johnson three-pointer which cut the lead down to 17 points. The teams swapped points through the two minute mark and the lead alternated between 17 and 19 points.

A free throw by Barr at 2:14 made it 42-22 and the lead was back to 20 points where it stayed through the end of the half. Willie Lago hit a jumper at the top of the key as time ran out give UL a 46-24 lead going into halftime.

Louisiana scorched the nets in the first stanza. The Cajuns shot 20-of-28 (71 percent) with nine different players making at least one basket. Bureau was 6-of-7 overall and 3-of-4 from three-point range.

The Ragin’ Cajuns connected on their first four field goal attempts of the second half and ran off a quick 8-2 run which saw the lead grow to 54-26. Gradnigo grabbed the third offensive rebound off a series of missed shots and hit a layup at 16:41 to give Louisiana its first 30-point lead, 56-26.

Emmanuel Adeife made one of two free throws at 16:04 for his first point in a Cajuns uniform.

Down 59-31, Louisiana College made a mini-run to close the deficit to where it was in the opening minute of the second half. It started with Johnson making a basket at 13:17. Bureau missed a three-pointer for UL and Meadows scored on the other end for LC making it 59-35.

After the team’s swapped three-point makes the Cajuns led 65-38. Robert Lee made wholesale changes for the Ragin’ Cajuns and his squad responded with an 8-2 run that returned the lead to 30-plus points.

The Cajuns continue their homestand and open Sun Belt play on Monday, Dec. 15 hosting ULM (2-6) at 7:05 p.m.

RaginCajuns.com