UL – Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns shot 25 percent in the game’s first eight-plus minutes and fell behind by double-digits early and never overcame the deficit as North Texas posted a 78-64 victory here Thursday evening in the CAJUNDOME.

The Ragin’ Cajuns cut the deficit to 34-32 on a Chris Gradnigo field goal at 18:25 of the second half. The Mean Green responded with a 10-4 run to increase its lead to 44-36.

Then the visitors delivered the final dagger as the clock dropped below 13 minutes. North Texas buried four 3-pointers from the 12:39 mark through 9:41 mark to extend the lead to a game-high 20 points, 59-39.

Louisiana went on a 7-0 run to close the deficit to 13 points, 59-46 with 8:44 on the clock. Nearly three minutes later, Travis Bureau connected on a triple on the right wing slicing the NT lead to 64-53. The Mean Green found Thompson in the left corner for a triple at 5:12 which upped the lead to 67-53.

UL did get within 10 points, 71-61, when McCoy hit a running jumper just as the clock dropped below two minutes. Time just wasn’t an ally of the Cajuns and North Texas made free throws down the stretch.

Louisiana did have four players reach double figures scoring for the second straight outing. The Cajuns were led by Bureau’s 14 points.

The Cajuns blocked a season-high 15 shots led by five blocks from Tyren Johnson. It was the seventh straight game that UL blocked at least five shots.

North Texas received a game-high 27 points off the hands of Tristan Thompson who hit 11-of-15 field goals attempted. The Mean Green drained 11 triples and outscored the Cajuns 33-12 from three-point range.

The loss broke the Ragin’ Cajuns’ four-game winning streak in the CAJUNDOME.

George Odufuwa gave the Mean Green a quick 4-0 start with a pair of field goal makes in the game’s first minute. The team’s then traded scoreless possessions until Thompson hit a runner in the lane to push the edge to 6-0.

The Ragin’ Cajuns crawled within three points when Chris Gradnigo got a steal near midcourt and made a reverse slam dunk at 14:24 to cut the NT lead to 9-6.

Josh White scored for the Mean Green on the ensuing possession kicking off an 8-0 run which put the visitors up double figures by the 11:32 mark. Thompson made triples on back-to-back possessions capping off the run and upping the Mean Green’s lead to 17-6.

The Cajuns were slowed down in the opening minutes by shooting 3-of-12 (25 percent) through the 11-minute media timeout.

The Cajuns shooting percentage improved over the next four minutes. The Cajuns shot 4-of-7 to keep pace with NT which made two more triples. Ryan McCoy scored a floater in the lane at 6:46 at Louisiana trimmed the deficit to 25-16.

Free throws from McCoy and Corey Bloom sandwiched a missed shot by NT. Bloom’s freebies came with 4:11 remaining in the opening stanza and Louisiana was down 27-23.

After the teams traded buckets, the Mean Green rattled off five unanswered beginning with a triple from Dominique Johnson at 3:07. The Cajuns missed three consecutive shots and a free throw during the next two minutes. A layup by White at 1:36 increased the NT lead to 34-25.

The Cajuns scored the half’s final three points to go into the locker room down 34-28.
Louisiana limited North Texas to 4-of-14 shooting in the final 7:50 of the first half helping the squad close the deficit on what was a 25-14 deficit at the point in the game.

Gradnigo began the second half scoring with a jumper at 19:17. The Cajuns blocked two shots on the ensuing possession forcing a shot clock violation. Gradnigo scored again, this time at 18:25 trimming the NT lead to 34-32. Thompson answered with a three-point basket 23 seconds later upping the NT margin to five points.

Gradnigo’s third basket of the second half came at 17:06 and made it 39-35. A turnover by McCoy and missed three-point field goal by Gradnigo led to layups by Hogans and Eric Tramiel which stretched the NT advantage to 43-35 by the 15:32 mark.

Both teams went without a field goal make until the 12:39 mark. They swapped free throws and the Mean Green’s lead was 44-36.

When either team made a field goal they belonged to NT and they were three-pointers by White and Johnson which sent the visitors lead to 50-36 as the clock neared 12 minutes remaining.

The Mean Green lead advanced to 20 points with 9:41 remaining in the game when White made a trey on the elbow of the left wing and was fouled by Bureau. He made the free throw to complete the four-point play and push the NT lead to 59-39.

Louisiana concludes its four-game homestand on Sunday, Dec. 21 hosting Sam Houston State at 5:15 p.m. It’s the final non-conference home game of the season.

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