Ragin' Cajuns Command Top Spot
UL alone in first place again after Denver loss
Apparently, Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns have it, after all.
The Cajuns, awakened by comments from a New Mexico State assistant coach that they lacked a knockout punch, dismissed the visiting Aggies with a smothering 91-49 victory before 4,470 fans in the Cajundome on Thursday.
"There were some comments made that we let teams hang around too long," UL coach Robert Lee said. "Our players wanted to prove that we have a killer instinct, and put them away early."
"There were a couple of comments that we don't have a killer instinct, and Coach used that to motivate us," said Orien Greene, who had 14 points, 6 assists and 3 steals.
"The comments were on our lockers when we walked in tonight, saying we let teams hang in a little too much," Tiras Wade said. "Our last game with them was closer than it should have been (an 89-79 overtime win by UL in Las Cruces), and as good a team as we are we wanted to put them away."
The Cajuns led 45-29 at halftime as the Aggies tightened what had been a 41-21 margin by intermission. NMSU then got within 47-35 in the second half, but Wade nailed a 3-pointer at 17:27 and the Cajuns were off on a deciding 30-3 run over the next nine minutes.
The one-sided victory also vaulted the Cajuns into the lead in the Sun Belt Conference Western Division race at 16-8, 10-2, thanks also to North Texas's 68-66 win over Denver (15-9, 9-3).
That didn't stop Lee from insisting his team stay on edge with three games to go.
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Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com
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