MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns continued their Murphy Center blues, falling 83-76 at Middle Tennessee on Thursday evening.

Louisiana (7-13, 4-5) falls to 1-4 all-time versus Middle Tennessee (13-8, 7-3) in the Murphy Center. The Cajuns played well, but fell victim to a bad stretch in each half that cost the team.

The Blue Raiders hit only 6-of-17 three-point baskets, but both of the triples they made in the second half came at key points in the game.

After a tightly contested first half, the Cajuns missed their first five shots of the second half to fall behind by 10 points early.

Ryan McCoy stopped the drought and Chris Gradnigo followed with a three-pointer, but the Blue Raiders started the half 5-of-8 to maintain a nine-point edge five-minutes into the stanza.

The Cajuns shooting struggles continued, as the team went another four-plus minute stretch without scoring. The good news for UL was that terrific defense held MT in check, allowing only a pair of baskets over that span to keep the margin at 13 points, 48-35, at 12:41.

The Cajuns appeared to get a little momentum after hitting a pair of baskets to cut the Blue Raiders’ lead down to 10 points, but Montarrio Haddock drained a three-pointer from the top of the key to squash the Cajuns spirits.

Haddock followed with a basket and then two free throws by Demario Williams boosted the host’s lead 17 points with 8:06 remaining.

With the Cajuns heads hanging, a then-scoreless Travis Bureau put the Cajuns on his back to get UL back into the game. Bureau scored eight points in 53 seconds to bring UL within 11 points, 63-52, with 6:55 to play.

Again the Blue Raiders used a big triple to cut the tension, as Calvin O’Neil nailed one from the corner to keep the Cajuns at arms length.

UL was able to get back within 10 points, 72-62, on a triple from McCoy, but only 2:21 remained in the contest. Bureau hit a triple to get the Cajuns within eight points with 84 seconds remaining, but the clock became the enemy.

Lamar Roberson hit two free throws to cut the gap to 76-70 with 48.3 showing, but MT made 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch to secure victory.

Courtney Wallace led the team with a career high 15 points and added six rebounds. McCoy finished with 14 points and Bureau ended with 11 points. La’Ryan Gary led all players with nine rebounds.

Kevin Kanaskie led five Blue Raiders in double figures with 18 points. He was 10-for-10 from the free throw line.

Despite 12 first half turnovers, the Cajuns were within three points at the break thanks to excellent play inside. Wallace and Jeremy Barr were 7-for-7 in the first half, combining for 16 points.

The Cajuns were just 1-for-6 in the first half from three point range and the combination of Randell Daigle, Bureau and Gradnigo was 3-for-11 from the floor, totaling six points.

The Cajuns started the game with back-to-back turnovers to fall behind 4-0.

A 6-0 deficit was cut to 6-5 thanks to a basket in the paint by Wallace and a three-point play by McCoy.

UL was just 3-for-9 shooting in the first six minutes, while MT was 5-for-5. Luckily, the Cajuns trailed by only four points, 11-7.

Buckets from Barr and Gradnigo tied the game at 16-16 midway through the half.

The Blue Raiders then proceeded to outscore the Cajuns 14-6 over the next five minutes to take an eight-point lead with five minutes to play in the first half.

UL owned the final 3:28, finishing the half with a 6-0 run to cut the MT lead to 33-30 at the break.

The Cajuns return to action on Saturday with a doubleheader with the women’s team at FAU.

RaginCajuns.com