Game Slips Away From UL in Final Minutes

[NewsCopy]

  Freshman Raymone Andrews started at point guard and scored a career-high nine points Thursday evening at Western Kentucky. Three triples by Randell Daigle brought UL back into the game in the second half and Andrews gave the team the lead with 14:04 remaining. However, WKU rolled off seven unanswered points to reclaim the lead.

A second-half comeback came up short as Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team fell to Western Kentucky, 77-65, at E.A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, Ky., on New Year's Eve.

At the start of the second half, Randell Daigle hit three consecutive three-pointers to bring the Cajuns (4-9, 1-1 Sun Belt) within one point, 40-39 at the 15:58 mark.

A pair of free throws by Tyren Johnson at the 15:08 mark would tie the contest, 42-42. On its next possession, UL would take a 44-42 lead after a jumper by Raymone Andrews.

But seven straight points by WKU (7-4, 1-0 Sun Belt) would turn the score in its favor, 49-44, with 11:11 remaining.

On two occasions, the Cajuns came within three points after baskets by Courtney Wallace, but the Hilltoppers would eventually stretch their lead to 10 points, 64-54 with less than seven minutes remaining.

A 9-2 run by WKU over the next minutes would put the game out of reach for the Cajuns at 73-56.

Johnson led UL with 17 points and Daigle chipped in 14. Andrews finished with a career-high nine points.

WKU was paced by a trio that scored double figures. Steffphon Pettigrew (17 points), Jeremy Evans (16 points) and AJ Slaughter (14 points) accounted for 47 of the Toppers' 77 points.

The Cajuns shot 46 percent on the night (23-of-50) but the Hilltoppers were able to knock down 29-of-60 attempts (48.3 percent). UL was able to win the battle of the boards, 32-29, but the Cajuns committed 18 turnovers to WKU's seven. Western Kentucky was able top score 24 points off of UL's turnovers.

Thursday's game marked the 19th meeting all-time in Bowling Green, 17th at Diddle Arena. The Hilltoppers extended their current series win streak over UL to six games.

Louisiana was prevented from gaining a 2-0 start in Sun Belt play and lost its fourth straight game overall.

The two teams traded baskets at the start, playing to a 6-6 tie before Western Kentucky grabbed the early lead. An Evans dunk at 16:52 gave the hosts the lead.

Louisiana trailed by as much as eight points in the first half, before a lay-up by Johnson cut the deficit to 24-20 with 7:44 remaining in the first half.

Despite holding the Hilltoppers scoreless for the final four minutes of the half, the Cajuns found themselves trailing, 34-28 at the break.

WKU was able to take advantage of 11 first-half turnovers by UL, resulting in 11 points for the Hilltoppers.

The Ragin' Cajuns will take another shot and snapping their current losing streak on Saturday, Jan. 2 when they face Middle Tennessee's Blue Raiders (6-6, 1-0 Sun Belt) in Murfreesboro, Tenn. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m., at the Murphy Center.

UL SI

[barisaxman]

Didn't listen, but I bet the post-game went something like this:

"Well, Jay, we played hard with good effort, but we just didn't make enough shots.
You know, Jay, we still have our season and goals ahead of us, so we just have to
go back to the gym, regroup, and get ready for Middle"

[CajunRed]

_ Didn't listen, but I bet the post-game went something like this:

"Well, Jay, we played hard with good effort, but we just didn't make enough shots.
You know, Jay, we still have our season and goals ahead of us, so we just have to
go back to the gym, regroup, and get ready for Middle" _

Man. did you peg it or what? My quesion might have been. "Coach Lee -- do you think the team's ongoing poor performances are due to a lack of talent (which is your responsibility). too many slackers on the team (which is your responsibility). or poor coaching (which, of course, is your responsibility)?"

Any other questions at this stage or pointless.

[Double Oh]

_ Man. did you peg it or what? My quesion might have been. "Coach Lee -- do you think the team's ongoing poor performances are due to a lack of talent (which is your responsibility). too many slackers on the team (which is your responsibility). or poor coaching (which, of course, is your responsibility)?"

Any other questions at this stage or pointless. _

Now that is classic