MBB Final: Louisiana 108, Coastal 101

[RedTails]

Fun basketball game in the dome tonight.

Yea, went just out of respect for the seniors and a great basketball game broke out. Rowdy crowd too.

[ZoomZoom]

Felt bad for Aucoin, think he got hosed on the second and third foul calls.

[Rainman66]

What is the conference tournament scenarios?

[ZoomZoom]

What is the conference tournament scenarios?

We finished 8th. Host stAte. Reportedly 11 AM Saturday. WBB has dome that afternoon, Trotters Saturday night.

[Turbine]

Yea, went just out of respect for the seniors and a great basketball game broke out. Rowdy crowd too.

Love it.

[TheRealZeebart]

It's Marlin's fault. He coached them up well tonight. Even Lafayette drained two threes.

Well, this is his best coaching job ever...

[ZoomZoom]

Well, this is his best coaching job ever...

Oh, we had moments...like down by 15 in first half. Legs were giving out in last minute. Free throws we shot in last few minutes were a few weak leg misses. CCU suffered the same thing, they were lights out from the line until the end.

Was shocked to see us press in the second half given no depth. Our players and coaches managed it well. 69 second half points was downright impressive. Wilson's alley oop reverse layup in the sceond half is Sports Center worthy.

[CajunDreDog]

Winner Winner! Chicken Dinner!

Louisiana will host A-State on Saturday at 11 a.m. in first round of the Sun Belt Championships.#GeauxCajuns ⚜️ pic.twitter.com/AqlM22VWrx

— Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns® Men's Basketball (@RaginCajunsMBB) March 4, 2020

[NewsCopy]

The win by Louisiana (13-18, 8-12 Sun Belt) secured the No. 8 seed in the upcoming Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Championships that will begin on Saturday at a pair of campus sites.

The Ragin' Cajuns will host No. 9-seeded Arkansas State, a 76-75 winner at Georgia Southern, in a first round game on Saturday at 11 a.m. Coastal Carolina (15-16, 8-12 Sun Belt) will face No. 7-seeded UT Arlington on Saturday.

Russell scored a game-high 28 points for Louisiana while Hardy, one of two seniors playing in their final regular-season game at the Cajundome, scored 16 of his career-high tying 24 points in the second half.

Six different players made 3-pointers for Louisiana, which went 16-for-35 from behind the arc and tied the single-game, school-record for that was set previously in games against Centenary in 2014 and Savannah State in 2017.

Coastal Carolina, which went 12-for-23 from behind the 3-point line, opened the game on a 7-0 run that started with back-to-back 3-pointers by Malik LaGrania and Garrick Green. The Chanticleers took a 12-3 lead on a bucket by Tommy Burton with 16:52 remaining in the first half and led 20-6 after Tim Ceaser drained a 3-pointer at the 14:55 mark.

The Ragin' Cajuns chipped away at the lead, getting as close as 33-29 on a 3-pointer by Kristian Lafayette with 5:23 remaining before a 16-4 run by CCU would extend the cushion to 49-33 in the final minute of the half.

Russell, who finished 8-for-20 from the floor and 9-for-10 from the free throw line, closed out the half for Louisiana with a three-point play and a 3-pointer that got the Ragin' Cajuns to within 49-39 at the break.

After that, Louisiana stepped on the gas on both ends of the floor.

The Ragin' Cajuns trailed 63-56 on Isaac Hippolyte's 3-pointer at the 15:23 mark of the second half before going on a 9-0 run to take their first lead of the game.

A steal and dunk by Mylik Wilson, who came off the bench to score 10 points with a career-high eight assists and five steals, started the rally for Louisiana before a 3-pointer by Russell and a pair of free throws by Jalen Johnson tied the game at 63-all.

The Ragin' Cajuns would take a 65-63 lead – their first of the game – on a steal and layup by Dou Gueye with 13:01 remaining before Hardy would eventually put Louisiana ahead for good, 69-66, on a 3-pointer from the right corner.

Trajan Wesley answered a CCU bucket by Burton on the following trip with a 3-pointer from the right corner before Lafayette would later bury his second 3-pointer of the night for a 77-70 lead with 9:29 left.

Coastal got as close as 83-78 on a basket by Hosana Kitenge with 6:45 left, but Louisiana would eventually take its biggest lead of the night, 94-82, on a layup by Gueye with 3:54 remaining.

Johnson scored 19 points and went 6-for-6 from the free throw line for Louisiana, which finished 33-for-66 from the floor and 26-for-32 from the charity stripe. Gueye recorded his first double-double for Louisiana, scoring 11 of his 12 points and grabbing eight of his game-high 11 rebounds in the second half.

Louisiana recorded a season-high 22 assists and forced 15 turnovers. The 108 points scored by Louisiana was the third-highest in a Sun Belt Conference game for the Ragin' Cajuns. The 16-point comeback for Louisiana was its seventh win of the year when trailing by double-digits and was the second-largest in the Bob Marlin era.

Malik LeGania scored a career-high 24 points to lead Coastal Carolina with Burton posting a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Garrick Green added 17 points for the Chanticleers while DeVante Jones added 12 and Tyrell Gumbs-Frater 11.

Reserved courtside tickets in the first four rows are $15 and include access to the premium courtside clubs. Tickets in rows five and above are $10. Additional fees may apply. Purchase online, over the phone by calling (337) 265-2170, or at the Cajundome Box Office.

Season ticket holders have the opportunity to purchase their seats if purchased by Friday at noon. Non-season ticket holders will be able to purchase their tickets tomorrow at a later announced time.

Cedric Russell and P.J. Hardy combined for 52 points and eight of a school-record tying 16 3-pointers, and Louisiana rallied from a 16-point, first-half to defeat Coastal Carolina, 108-101, in the Sun Belt Conference regular-season finale for both teams on Tuesday at the Cajundome.

The rest of the story
Louisiana AD

[CajunDreDog]

Scoring by Period

Team	1	2	Total
Coastal	49	52	101
LOUISIANA	39	69	108

[NewsCopy]

The incentive was plentiful.

Win, and UL would host its first-round Sun Belt Conference Tournament game. Lose, and the Ragin’ Cajuns would have to travel.

Motivated to stay home, the Cajuns beat Coastal Carolina 108-101 at the Cajundome on Tuesday night behind 28 points from Cedric Russell, 24 by senior P.J. Hardy on Senior Night, 19 from Jalen Johnson, Dou Gueye’s 12-point, 11-rebound double-double and another 10 points from freshman Mylik Wilson

Advertiser
subscription

[CajunDreDog]

𝙇𝙊𝙐𝙄𝙎𝙄𝘼𝙉𝘼 108, Coastal Carolina 101 ...

Dan McDonald and Eric Mouton recap @RaginCajunsMBB epic comeback victory on Senior Night.#GeauxCajuns ⚜️#SunBeltMBB pic.twitter.com/17KSebdO9O

— Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns® Men's Basketball (@RaginCajunsMBB) March 4, 2020