Apparently, the third time was a charm for the University of Louisiana at Lafayette men’s basketball team.

After losing to Denver twice during the regular season, the Cajuns finally upended the Pioneers when it mattered most, taking a convincing 88-69 win in the Sun Belt Tournament championship game last Wednesday.

The Cajuns now advance to the NCAA Tournament, where they have earned a No. 13 seed. They will play No. 4 seed Louisville in the first round on Friday, March 18, in Nashville, Tenn. The game will be aired on CBS at 6:15 p.m.

Louisiana-Lafayette entered the Sun Belt Championship game on the heels of two momentum-building victories over Middle Tennessee and Florida International.

“ We prepared for this moment all year long. I told them we needed to win three games in March,” said head coach Robert Lee.

The Cajuns came out a bit sluggish to start the game, allowing the Pioneers to gain a seven-point lead early. Slowly but surely, however, the Cajuns clawed their way back to a 32-32 deadlock at halftime, despite shooting only 40 percent compared to Denver’s 52 percent.

Whatever coach Lee said to the players at halftime seemed to work, as Chris Cameron hit a 3-pointer at the start of the second half. The Cajuns never looked back, igniting a run over the first four minutes that left them with a comfortable lead.

“ Once we get a seven or eight-point lead, we’re difficult to catch,” Lee said after the game.

The closest Denver could get after that was within seven points, as they trailed 70-63 with 5:28 left.

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The Vermilion
Chris Ledet