The Book: 2002-2003 Basketball (Ragin'Cajuns)

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"Folks,
Tonight's win was a great moment in history for a great program. Those kids went out there and simple played their hearts out. Both sides for that matter. But, the Cajuns showed a level of maturity that I have not seen in a while. The upper classmen showed alot of leadership out there. Brad was on fire. Bunny showed alot of patience and team ball. Jessie coached one helluva of game. We looked like a top program. The MSU folks were floored by the poise and skill exhibited by all players for UL. This team did not fall apart when Washington went down. Nor when KJ went down. Without two of all top players at all. When MSU went up by five late in the game, I remember wondering how the team would rally. And rally they did. The best team clearly won here in Starkville. A team where the team ball was played and true grit was used to knock off a very tough No. 12 team. Stopped by to see Jay after the game and he as excited as my brother and I. Three happy Cajun fans among a large corwd of admiring MSU fans who poured plenty of gracious admiration toward our Cajuns. Just a great win for a great team. This season appears to be one that will be very special for us. Spring is gonna be fun!!!! "

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Advertisers-Dan McDonald

LAFAYETTE - The celebration of a big season-opening upset has come to a conclusion for UL's basketball squad.

The excitement over the 79-76 road win at Mississippi State will linger for a while, but the Ragin' Cajuns got down to the business of preparing for another road challenge at Monday's practice.

The Cajuns pulled off their first win over a ranked team in over 10 seasons Saturday in shocking the Bulldogs, who dropped to 23rd in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls this week. MSU had been ranked 12th in last week's AP poll.

"I still think they're one of the top 10 teams in the country," said UL Lafayette head coach Jessie Evans, one of the voters on the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll. "With Mario (Austin) in there, I had them seventh or eighth. That's how much respect I have for State and their basketball program."

The Bulldogs were playing without All-Southeastern Conference returnee center Austin, who is sidelined pending eligibility investigations dating back to his freshman season. Several national accounts of Saturday's opener belabored the point that Austin didn't see the court.

Those same accounts didn't mention that the Cajuns were playing without five players who would normally see extensive action, including All-Sun Belt Conference returnee and last year's Freshman of the Year Michael Southall at center and returning starter Laurie Bridges at guard.

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ADVERTISERS-Dan McDonald

LAFAYETTE - It apparently didn't take long for Louisiana head basketball coach Jessie Evans to get his squad back down out of the clouds after Saturday's opening win over nationally-ranked Mississippi State.

"All we had to do was show the tape on the bus ride back," Evans said, "and let them see how many times Mississippi State got to the basket and how many offensive rebounds they got. They were playing volleyball with us sometimes."

Evans is hoping his team improves in some areas when the Cajuns (1-0) play their second straight road contest tonight, and a long-time rival will be waiting for their arrival when McNeese State (1-1) hosts the Cajun squad at 7 p.m. in Burton Coliseum.

McNeese fell at Mississippi State 81-65 on Monday, two nights after UL Lafayette pulled off the 79-76 shocker in Starkville, but Evans said that comparitive scores don't mean a lot.

"McNeese outrebounded them (Mississippi State) for most of the game," he said, "and we didn't do a good job at all in keeping them off the boards. And they've got three guards that are all excellent perimeter shooters."

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Advertisers-Brady Aymond

LAKE CHARLES -- Louisiana's basketball squad found out last Saturday what can happen when the shots go in.

Here Monday night, the Ragin' Cajuns found out what happens when they don't.

The Cajuns struggled from the field most of the evening, and McNeese State's Cowboys took advantage in taking a 76-74 win in the teams' annual rivalry game.

Jerrick Oliver's follow-up with 3.4 seconds left provided the eventual winning margin after the teams swapped the lead three times in the final minute.

The Cajun squad had used long-range marksmanship to take the upset 79-76 win over then-12th ranked Mississippi State on Saturday including 14 three-point baskets.

Against the Cowboys, UL Lafayete hit only 35.9 percent from the field.

Even with the cold shooting, the Cajuns cut into a double-figure deficit in the final three minutes. Three free throws and a three-pointer by Brad Boyd at the 2:54 mark ended an 8-0 run and put UL within 70-67, and a Kenneth Lawrence follow 50 seconds later made it 71-69.

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Cajuns stumble on road at McNeese St.
Dan McDonald / Staff Writer
Posted on November 29, 2002
LAFAYETTE - Louisiana's men's basketball team has split its first two games of the season, winning the game that most expected them to lose and falling in the contest that most expected them to win.

That leaves the Ragin' Cajuns 1-1, but Wednesday's loss at McNeese State also left them with an empty feeling.

After shooting Mississippi State out of its own arena last Saturday in a 79-76 upset over the then-12th ranked Bulldogs, the Cajuns found out what life was like on the other side at Burton Coliseum.

UL watched as the host Cowboys only missed 23 shots all night and hit 50 percent from three-point range in a 76-74 win that snapped a streak of nine straight Cajun wins in the series between the clubs.

"We needed this win desperately," said McNeese head coach Tic Price. "They've gotten us every time since I've been here and a lot of times before that."

The Cajuns hit only 23 of 64 shots from the field and only seven of 27 from three-point range, while the Cowboys were over 50 percent from the floor in each half.

"We have to do a better job of contesting shots," said Cajun head coach Jessie Evans, who lost for the first time to MSU in five meetings. "And we've got to do a better job of moving the basketball around and probing a defense. The three-point shots will always be there."

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I wish I could have made the game, but it sure sounds like the Cajuns are putting on a clinic.

With 12:24 to geaux . . .

UL 93
LC 36

According to Steve the CajunDome record is 128

All the starters have been taken out of the game.

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LOUISIANA

Louisiana's CajunDome

Louisiana College

117 57 Ca-Boom "Cajuns Demolish Louisiana College"

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If I heard right Birds Eye View correctly, it was reported that 12 straight wins at home is a new Ragin' Cajun record.

Hows that for "Stumping" the competition?

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Advertisers-Dan McDonald

LAFAYETTE - Louisiana's men's basketball squad plays its third straight home game tonight, and don't expect things to be much different from the last two.

The Ragin' Cajuns (3-2) have outscored their last two foes by a combined 93 points and Bethune-Cookman figures to be the next victim at 7:05 p.m. in the Cajundome.

The Cajuns humbled Louisiana College 117-57 one week ago and are coming off a 99-66 crunching of Alcorn State on Monday, and probably won't get much more of a challenge from the 1-3 Wildcats. Bethune-Cookman dropped a 79-52 decision at 20th-ranked Minnesota Friday despite the unbeaten Golden Gophers playing without their leading scorer.

"They're very similar to Alcorn in that they have some excellent athletes,' said Cajun head coach Jessie Evans. "They've played a lot of games on the road, but we won't be looking past them after last year.'

The teams played in Daytona Beach, Fla., last season, and Bethune-Cookman led most of the first half and was still tied with the Cajuns after halftime before UL Lafayette stretched a late margin to an 83-73 win. The Cajuns had to shoot 55 percent to take that win.

B-CC's Richard Toussaint had 29 points in last year's game, and the 6-foot-3 guard has been the Wildcats' leading scorer in all four games this year on the way to a 20.0 average.

"We couldn't contain him (Toussaint) last year,' Evans said. "He and the other guard they had last year had 48 between them, so we know what they're capable of.'

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[snote]

what a silly "headline" this was.. bil

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Originally posted by snote
what a silly "headline" this was.. bil

Understatement for sure.

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LOUISIANA

Louisiana's CajunDome

Bethune Cookman

81 55 Louisiana sets CajunDome Home record 14 straight wins.

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LOUISIANA

Berkeley, Calif.

DETROIT

68 62 No-one early, Boyd through the middle, Southall near the end, Bridges at the buzzer. They each came to the fore when needed most

LOUISIANA

Berkeley, Calif.

CALIFORNIA

61 77 Down by 11 at the half. The LA Cagers lose by 16

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PreGame Story

BOBBY ARDOIN
Special to The Advocate

LAFAYETTE -- The burden around the basket has lightened somewhat for University of Louisiana at Lafayette sophomore center Michael Southall.

This season UL has five players, including Southall, who are capable of playing center.

That additional height might be needed tonight when the Cajuns meet the University of Detroit Mercy in the first round of the EA Sports Golden Bear Classic in Berkeley, Claif.. Tipoff is 6:30 p.m. (CST).

The other teams in the tournament include Grambling State and host California-Berkeley, who play tonight following the ULL-Detroit contest.

On Saturday the first-round losers will play at 6:30 p.m., followed by the 9 p.m. championship game.

Last season Southall was the Sun Belt Conference Freshman Of The Year, but he carried nearly the entire load at center.

Centers Khadim Kandji (6-foot-9) and Robert Davis (6-8) were both on the basketball team last year, but played only a combined 100 minutes.

In addition to Southall, Kandji and Davis, the Cajuns also have redshirt freshman Chris Cameron (6-11) and 6-8 sophomore Cedric Williams, who can also play forward.

For Southall, who averaged 28.7 minutes last year, the help underneath the basket is welcome.

"I love having those other guys who can come in. Because I'm going to be double teamed most of the time, the other guys will be drawing one-on-one coverage all season.

"That's going to help them score and rebound and it also helps the team," said Southall.

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Post Game Story

ADVERTISER

BERKELEY, Calif. - For the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team, Michael Southall came through when it counted the most.

The sophomore center from West Salem, Wisc., had an uncharacteristic night shooting from the field (3-of-11) but made his biggest shot of the night, a turnaround layup that gave Louisiana a 54-53 lead with 4:40 left to play in the game, one they would not surrender the rest of the way.

The Cajuns held on to defeat the University of Detroit 68-62 in the first round of the EA Sports Golden Bear Classic here Friday afternoon at Haas Pavilion and picked up their fourth straight win. UL (4-2) advances to Saturday's championship game against the winner of Cal and Grambing at 10 p.m. (CST).

Southall's layup sparked a 9-0 Cajuns run which turned a 53-50 deficit into a 59-53 advantage with 2:56 remaining in the game. Louisiana held on down the stretch, making five free throws to finish the scoring after UDM had rallied to cut the lead to 63-58 with 40 seconds remaining.

UL entered the second half down by eight trailed by nine and seven points on two different occasions. UDM led 49-42 9:10 remaining in the game.

Brad Boyd led all Cajuns with 25 points which included six three-pointers. Anthony Johnson had 13 points and Laurie Bridges contributed 12 points off the bench. Southall led the Cajuns with 10 rebounds. UL Lafayette hit only 20-of-55 shots (36.4 percent) ending a streak of four straight games in which the Cajuns had shot above 50 percent.

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