Blue Raiders Overtake Cajuns in Second Half
Chris Gradnigo tied his season-high with 23 points Saturday night at the Murphy Center against Middle Tennessee. The Blue Raiders outscored the Cajuns 39-25 in the second stanza to rally for the victory - their fifth straight in the series.
Louisiana's Ragin Cajuns men's basketball team dropped its first Sun Belt game of the New Year, falling 68-58 to Middle Tennessee at the Murphy Center in Murfreesboro, Tenn., on Saturday night.
With the loss the Cajuns are now 4-10 on the year and 1-2 in Sun Belt play. Middle Tennessee improves to 7-6 overall and 2-0 in league play.
During the first six minutes of play, there were five lead changes and one tie. The Blue Raiders were able to take a 10-7 lead at the 14:01 mark.
The Cajuns trailed by as much as five points and were able to close within one point on three different occasions before Willie Lago drained a three to grab a 24-23 lead with 5:40 remaining.
UL would take a 33-29 lead into the break after closing out the half on a 7-0 run.
The Cajuns' defense held Middle Tennessee scoreless for the final four minutes of the half, forcing 10 turnovers.
Chris Gradnigo had 13 points by the half, 11 of which were scored in the final eight minutes after being called for a technical foul earlier in the game. After hitting the game's opening free throw, Gradnigo was able to reach his 800th career point.
The Blue Raiders were able to convert a three-point play to knot the score 47-47 at the 10:51 mark and took the lead, 55-49 at the 7:12 mark, capping off a 14-4 run.
The Blue Raiders would stretch the lead to 13 points, 67-54, at the 1:51 mark.
The Cajuns finished the night shooting 42.0 percent (21-50) from the floor. UL struggled from the charity stripe hitting just 14-of-26 (53.8 percent) and lost the battle of the boards 37-24.
Gradnigo tied his season-high with 23 points and Tyren Johnson joined him in double-digits with 10 points.
The Cajuns forced the Blue Raiders into 20 turnovers while committing just 10 of their own.
Louisiana will return to the hardwood on Jan. 7 to take on North Texas at the Cajundome. Tipoff is set for 7:05 p.m.
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