Chris Gradnigo tied his season-high with 23 points, but it wasn't enough as the Cajuns fell to UALR 76-69 Saturday night in Little Rock.The Trojans outscored the Cajuns 10-3 in the final two minutes to break a 66-all tie and end UL's two-game win streak. The Cajuns return home for a pair of games next week - Jan. 21 vs. UNO and Jan. 23 vs. Troy at the Cajundome.

On Saturday night, UALR used a last minute run to pull away from Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team and steal a 76-69 win at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock, Ark.
The Trojans (5-13, 1-6 Sun Belt) outscored the Cajuns (6-11, 3-3 Sun Belt) 10-3 in the final two minutes.

Chris Gradnigo finished with 23 points, tying his season high. Randell Daigle finished with 16 points, including a 5-for-11 effort from three-point range in the second half.

For the second straight game Tyren Johnson recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 boards - his fifth double-double of the season. Javan Mitchell tied his career-high with eight points.

The Cajuns shot 41.2 percent (28-69) on the evening and committed a season-low six turnovers.

Free throw shooting made a difference is UALR's sixth straight win over the Ragin' Cajuns. UL shot just 36.4 percent (4-11) from the free-throw line compared to UALR's 24-of-33 effort (72.7 percent).

Louisiana, coming off back-to-back wins over Sun Belt West favorites North Texas and Denver, was unable to extend their win streak to three games. Instead, the Cajuns dropped their fourth straight game road and fell to 2-7 away from the Cajundome this season.

UALR came out of the break on a 6-0 run and maintained a nine-point lead until the 16:55 mark, 45-36.

Back-to-back-to-back three-pointers by Daigle would tie the contest at 47-47 and a lay-up by Mitchell on the next possession gave UL their first lead of the second half, 49-47 at the 12:38 mark.

The Cajuns would stretch their lead to as much as six points, 56-50, before the Trojans would tie the contest at 58-58 with 6:56 remaining.

Over the next five minutes, the scored would be tied three times and the lead would change four times before UALR would score five quick points to grab a 71-66 lead with 1:11 remaining.

Saturday's game marked the fourth meeting between the programs at the Jack Stephens Center. UALR improved to 3-1 against the Cajuns at the facility.

The Cajuns opened the game, getting ahead of the Trojans, 5-0. UALR would grab a brief lead at 9-8 at the 15:54 mark, before five-point run by Johnson put the Cajuns back in the lead at 13-9 with 14:21 remaining.

Mitchell would add the next four points, upping the advantage to 17-12 by the 12:58 mark.

The lead would change two more times with both teams battling to a 25-25 with 4:28 remaining in the first half.

The score would find itself knotted again, 31-31, at the 2:00 mark before the Trojans were able to take a 35-32 lead into the break.

UL returns home for a pair of games next week. First up is a meeting with Interstate 10 rival New Orleans on Thursday, Jan. 21 at the Cajundome against. Tipoff is set for 7:05 p.m., for the only meeting between the Cajuns and Privateers (7-11, 2-5 Sun Belt) this season. The Cajuns will carry a 12-game win streak over UNO at the Cajundome into the contest.

Following the game with UNO, the Ragin' Cajuns host Troy on Saturday, Jan. 23 at 7:05 p.m.

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