For the second consecutive game, Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns dropped a heartbreaker with less than 30 seconds remaining. South Alabama used an offensive rebound and put-back from Martino Brock to escape with a 67-65 victory on Saturday night at the Mitchell Center in Mobile, Ala.
With the game tied at 58-58 with 4:18 remaining, USA made only one field goal in the final four-plus minutes, but it proved to be Brock's game-winner.
The Cajuns (11-14, 8-6 Sun Belt) were whistled for six fouls in the final four minutes, with just one occurring after Brock's go-ahead basket. The fouls led to seven points on the other end of the court. South Alabama (15-12, 7-8 Sun Belt) was not called for a foul over the same span.
Two quick three-pointers by the Jaguars sliced the Cajuns 10-point halftime lead to four points just 80 seconds into the second half.
After watching the lead dwindle to two points, Tyren Johnson scored seven straight points to give the Cajuns a 49-40 advantage with 10:44 left to play.
The Jaguars countered with an 18-5 burst to take the lead for the first time since the opening minutes of the game. USA connected on four triples during the run - making seven three-pointers on 10 attempts in the first 15 minutes of the second half.
Johnson took over the game for a 30-second span to give the Cajuns back the lead. He nailed a triple from the top of the key and added a steal and coast-to-coast lay-up to give UL a 65-62 edge with 1:41 on the clock.
Johnson led the Cajuns with 30 points - his third, 30-plus point performance of the season. He added six rebounds, four steals, three assists and three blocks. Chris Gradnigo finished with 19 points and eight boards.
Three Jaguars posted double figures in scoring, led by double-doubles from Tim Williams (23 points, 12 rebounds) and Brock (19 points, 13 rebounds).
The Cajuns did a great job defensively in the first half, holding USA to 29 percent shooting overall, including just 14 percent (2-of-14) from three-point range.
Despite four early turnovers, the Cajuns held an 11-7 lead six minutes into the game. That lead grew to 16-7 following five straight points by Gradnigo.
UL held USA to 20 percent shooting (3-of-15) in the game's first 10 minutes. Unfortunately, the Cajuns own cold shooting kept the game close.
A 7-0 Jaguars run cut the Cajuns lead to 18-16 with six minutes remaining in the first half.
UL responded with a 14-7 run over the final 3:38 to take a 10-point lead at intermission. Johnson had five points and Gradnigo had four points during the spurt, which also included a triple by Randell Daigle and a basket from Javan Mitchell.
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