LOUISIANA La. - Say one thing for Robert Lee's first year as a head basketball coach for Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns: It hasn't been dull.

At times, it hasn't been especially calming.

Point guard Orien Greene had to overcome a broken leg.

Other Cajuns have dealt with paralyzing free throw shooting woes.

Then there's the altered dynamic between player and coach once a coach moves to the head position from that of assistant.

But it can be rewarding, especially when that broken leg heals, and the team hits 19 of 20 free throws in a half and the squad puts together back-to-back road wins in Sun Belt Conference play.

"Last week was a pretty good week for us," said Lee, whose Cajuns defeated South Alabama 59-56 last Thursday then rallied from 27-15 behind to beat New Orleans 72-67 on Saturday. "We got two wins we really needed."

Now 8-7 overall and 2-1 in Sun Belt action, the Cajuns are back on the road Thursday at New Mexico State.

"Against South Alabama, we got the ball to Tiras Wade and let him make plays," Lee said. "We also made some defensive stops late in the game that allowed us to have a chance to win.

"The win over UNO was a complete team effort. Everybody who played contributed to the win. And our free throw shooting (23-of-27, 19-of-20 after halftime) became contagious, like missing them. Once one player started making them, everybody did.

"We figured the best thing to do was just not say a thing. The players still worked on it, but we stopped harping on it."

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Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com