--John Rowland/The Lafayette Daily Advertiser
UL Lafayette’s Michael Southall, left, battles Nerijus Lisauskus of New Orleans for a loose ball during Saturday’s win.
Working overtime
Cajuns hold off Privateers to run streak to 19.
Bruce Brown
February 9, 2003
LAFAYETTE — This streaking business is getting harder all the time, but it’s worth the effort.
UL Lafayette needed overtime to hold off the New Orleans Privateers 79-75 Saturday night before a season-high 8,121 fans at the Cajundome, running its homecourt victory streak to 19 in a row.
Brad Boyd didn’t score until 10:05 remained in regulation, but he finished with 15 including a clinching 5-of-6 free throws at the end of the extra period as the Ragin’ Cajuns improved to 16-6 overall and 8-1 in the Sun Belt Conference.
Sophomore center Michael Southall was a tower of power in the win, playing just short of the full 45 minutes and finishing with 16 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists.
New Orleans (12-10, 5-6) was led by 2002 Sun Belt Player of the Year Hector Romero, who had 20 points and 10 rebounds but failed to score in overtime.
“The crowd was excellent,” Cajun coach Jessie Evans said. “We fed off of them a lot in the second half, and they played a huge part in this win.
“We weren’t quite sure they were getting their money’s worth, so we played an extra five minutes.”
Southall appeared to clinch it for the Cajuns at the end of regulation, blocking a Romero shot and appearing to seal a 65-63 triumph. But his rejection was ruled goaltending and the two teams headed for supplemental action.
“I’m really impressed with Lafayette, always have been,” UNO coach Monte Towe said. “We came in here and played nose-to-nose against what I consider the best team in the conference, and maybe that will give us confidence for the Sun Belt Tournament.”
Towe said the clear difference was Southall.
“I think Southall is a wonderful player,” Towe said. “He’s a factor all over the floor, defensively and offensively. He’s also a wonderful passer. And, he likes to win.”
Southall’s desire to win was evidenced by his play in overtime. After getting his blocked shot disallowed to prompt OT, Southall scored 7 of the Cajuns’ first 9 points in the frame and dished off to freshman Cedric Williams for the other bucket.
“I was really upset that we had to go to overtime,” Southall said. “My teammates kept telling me over and over that they (the Privateers) can’t stop me, and they kept getting me the ball.”
There were plenty of nervous moments for the Cajuns. The Privateers broke a 29-all tie and mounted a 36-29 advantage at halftime. Then, midway through the second half, a 3-point bomb by Kyle Buggs put UNO ahead by 9 at 52-43.
That’s when Boyd finally came alive with a 3-pointer of his own, serving as the flashpoint for a 14-1 Cajun surge that put them ahead 57-53. Boyd’s trey off a Southall screen tied the game at 53, Southall got a tip-in and then a Southall steal led to an Immanuel Washington layup.
Three-pointers by Romero and A.J. Meredith produced a 59-57 UNO lead, but a breakaway drive by Laurie Bridges, coming after Williams forced Romero into a costly turnover, put the Cajuns ahead by 63-59.
A tap-in and 12-footer in the lane by Buggs then knotted it again. Southall slipped the ball to Williams for a 65-63 edge, before the call at the end of regulation.
“At the half,” Anthony Johnson said, “they had the lead and we were playing their game. Once we started playing our game, we picked up the tempo on defense and started running the floor. Then they fell into our hands.”
“Worried?” Southall said. “Worried, no. Concerned, yes. You’ve got to get a little nervous edge to you.”
“We tried to slow the game up a little bit,” Towe said. “I’d like to run more, but we have trouble in transition (UNO finished with 19 turnovers). The game went pretty much the way I wanted it to, until they hit that spurt in the second half.
“I think Southall was the difference, that and our turnovers. Their defense was good. They’re athletic. Part of our turnover problem was probably their defense.”
The Cajuns’ ability to come at the Privateers in waves eventually spelled the difference.
“Nineteen in a row is a lot,” Johnson said. “When we got down by 9, that was a wake-up call for us. You still have to go out and play hard. Ain’t no game given to you.”
Never was that more true than Saturday night.
Working overtime
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