Suddenly, Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns have confidence and momentum.

That will come in handy this week when coach Robert Lee's squad hosts Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee in crucial Sun Belt Conference games at the Cajundome.

"It's good to be on a little bit of a winning streak," said Lee, whose Cajuns ripped Florida International last Saturday for a fourth straight victory.

"Our confidence level has grown, because No. 5 (Orien Greene) is back in the lineup. The more confident we get, the more success we have, the more difficult it will be to beat us."

The Cajuns tried something refreshing against FIU, burying an opponent with an early rush instead of relying the kind of comeback effort that was needed for road wins at South Alabama, New Orleans and New Mexico State.

"We didn't play well the first half at New Mexico State," said Lee, whose team trailed by 11 at the break but won going away in overtime, 89-79. "We couldn't guard the 3-point shot. But we made adjustments at halftime and did a better job.

"Our (39-16) first half against Florida International is something I haven't seen this year. We had never been able to get out to a lead. We were always playing from behind. I was pleased to get out front."

UL (10-7 overall, 4-1 in Sun Belt play) fueled the runway with defense and ignited it with three high-flying dunks by Dwayne Mitchell.

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Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com