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

[snote]

what a silly "headline" this was.. bil

[Turbine]

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

Understatement for sure.

[Turbine]

LOUISIANA

Louisiana's CajunDome

Bethune Cookman

81 55 Louisiana sets CajunDome Home record 14 straight wins.

[Turbine]

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

[NewsCopy]

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.

The rest of the story

[NewsCopy]

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.

The rest of the story

[NewsCopy]

ADVOCATE

BERKELEY, Calif. -- For the University of Louisiana, Michael Southall came through when it counted most.

The sophomore center uncharacteristically struggled from the field (3-for-11) but made his biggest shot of the night, a turnaround jumper for a 54-53 lead with 4:40 left in the game, one the Ragin’ Cajuns did not surrender.

UL held on to defeat the University of Detroit 68-62 Friday in the first round of the EA Sports Golden Bear Classic.

Louisiana (5-2), with its fourth straight victory, advances to today’s championship game against California, an 84-65 winner against Grambling.

The rest of the story

[NewsCopy]

Advertisers-Dan McDonald / Staff Writer

LAFAYETTE - Louisiana head basketball coach Jessie Evans has repeatedly said how important it is to get out to a good start on the road.

The Ragin' Cajuns did that on Friday night in the opening round of the EA Sports Golden Bear Classic, and then took over in the closing minutes in a 68-62 win over Detroit Mercy.

Late Saturday night, they didn't get off to a good start, and Cal's Golden Bears made them pay.

The hosts led by as many as 14 points in the first seven minutes, and the Cajuns rarely got back within single digits after that in a 77-61 loss in the tournament finals.

"When you're on the road, it's imperative that you get going early," Evans said after the Cajuns had one field goal and five turnovers in the first seven minutes. "We were never really under control even though we got back within striking distance a couple of times."

The Cajuns (5-3) got the margin back to seven points in each half, but that was as close as it got thanks mostly to Cal's 56 percent shooting from the field and UL Lafayette's 21 turnovers. Saturday's tourney final was the first time in eight games this year that the Cajuns had more turnovers than their opponents, and the Bears scored 23 points off those mistakes.

The rest of the story

[UNCCTF]

Hey everyone! Just wondering if any Ragin' Cajuns would be making the trip with their team to Charlotte this coming weekend for the Pepsi Classic.

Little bit about us -- We're 4-3 right now, coming off two home wins last week against Miami and Southern Illinois. We're 4-0 at home, and 0-3 on the road. We rely heavily on the outside shot, as we have no one on our team taller than 6-8.

Anyway, if any of you are coming, have a safe trip to Charlotte. I'll be at your game against Colorado on Friday. Good luck!

[Turbine]

Greetings. Some are going I am not.

How do you feel about the losses to Appalachian, Richmond, and Davidson? Nice win over Miami.

Louisiana is 5-3 all the losses were demoralizing, and like you on the road. Our biggest win was over #12 (at the time) Mississippi State.

The team is balanced if performing on all cylinders.

Thanks for checking in.

p.s. let us know about your local forum.

[NinerAdvocate]

http://www.cusa-talk.com/modules/newbb/

Feel free to come join us on our forums. Our site is geared a little different in that it deals team-specific content based upon the team affiliation you choose when you register.

So if you wanna see the board how our fans do, choose Charlotte as your theme and also as your affiliation.

Looking forward to a good game against you.

[EVCajun12]

I wish I was going up, but just will not be able to make it. I watched you guys on espn plus when you were playing Miami ( I think it was last weekend?). I was impressed with you guys. . Saw you had a good shooter and most of your players were athletes.

I am looking forward to the game.