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

[Turbine]

With 7:25 left in the game the score is
Louisiana 68
Ark Little Rock 65

[Turbine]

Southall fouls out.

LA 84
ALR 81

Emanual Washington gets steal with :30 seconds left.

KJ offensive foul

Johnson hurt.

Little Rock needs 3 to tie. NO GOOD

:11.5 to go "KJ much smarter this time around" first free throw good. Second no good.

LA 85
ALR 81

:3.7 seconds left

[Turbine]

Louisiana WINS 85-81

[CajunCall]

I listened to the game and we were fortunate to come away with a win.

[NewsCopy]

Cajuns overcome hot-shooting Trojans.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — This time, they got it right. Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns got back on their game here Saturday night, withstanding a fierce effort by Arkansas-Little Rock to secure an 85-81 victory before 5,012 fans at Alltel Arena.

The Cajuns were flat in Thursday’s 84-72 loss at Arkansas State, and needed a better performance if they were to avoid a bad road trip.

They got that in a big way from Laurie Bridges, who scored a career-high 26 points for the second game in a row.

“That’s back-to-back 26 points,” Bridges said. “Plus, we won this one, so that’s even better.

“We knew after Thursday night that if we played as champions, which we are, and played with pride, we would be all right.”

The Cajuns, back-to-back champs of the Sun Belt Conference’s West Division, improved to 19-7 overall and 11-2 in league play. UALR, fighting to finish second in the East, fell to 16-11 and 7-6.

“This game shows the mark of a champion,” Cajun coach Jessie Evans said. “We’re not satisfied with winning the West. We’re all about getting better and getting that bar up high.

“We showed the composure of a champion tonight.”

The rest of the story

Advertiser-Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com

[NewsCopy]

LAFAYETTE — Once they found out they were beatable, Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns learned how to win again.

The Cajuns had their 9-game Sun Belt Conference win streak snapped at Arkansas State last Thursday, then used that as motivation for an 85-81 triumph at Arkansas-Little Rock on Saturday to stay on track for the league’s best record.

Coach Jessie Evans’ squad (19-7, 11-2) hosts North Texas (7-18, 2-11) at 7:05 p.m. today at the Cajundome, then finishes the regular season against Western Kentucky on Wednesday in a highly-anticipated home game on ESPN2.

Victories in those two contests would clinch the top mark for the Cajuns and set the tone for the Sun Belt Tournament at WKU.

The rest of the story

Advertiser-Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com

[Turner]

BEAT NORTH TEXAS
Just for the hell of it we need to get to 20 wins in the regular season UL is 19-7 and I want win # 20 TONIGHT.

[ChanceEncounter]

Not that I can go to a game, but if the Cajuns of UL lose to a team that is 2-11 in conference I don't know what I will do.

[LatvianCajun]

Well now we have win number 20, but not in the top 25?

[NewsCopy]

Ragin’ Cajuns tune up for WKU with blowout

LAFAYETTE — Tyson versus Etienne had more suspense.

Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns administered an early knockout blow to outmanned North Texas Monday night before 5,436 fans at the Cajundome, a 94-60 runaway that set up Wednesday’s showdown with Western Kentucky.

The visiting Mean Green was without flu-stricken leader Chris Davis, who leads UNT in scoring, rebounding and assists, but he played earlier in an 89-58 home loss to the Cajuns and couldn’t have reversed Monday’s blowout.

The rest of the story

Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com

[NewsCopy]

WKU Hilltoppers finally invade Cajundome arena

LAFAYETTE — If it seems like a long time since the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers have visited the Cajundome, it’s not a mirage.

WKU’s last appearance here was Feb. 17, 2000, when Louisiana posted a 72-64 victory en route to the Sun Belt Conference regular season and tournament titles.

Since then, the Hilltoppers have posted four straight victories over the Ragin’ Cajuns, all away from the Cajun Dome. Two came in Bowling Green and two were at Sun Belt Tournament sites in Mobile and New Orleans.

That changes at 8:30 p.m. today when the Cajuns host WKU on ESPN2 in a game that will determine the regular season champion in the league.

“We won’t sneak up on one another,” Cajun coach Jessie Evans said. “It should be a heck of a game.”

It should be a packed house, too, although advanced ticket sales for the game indicated most non-students in attendance will be walk-up fans buying tickets today.

The West Division champion Cajuns (20-7, 12-2) tuned up for the showdown with an easy 94-60 Monday night victory over North Texas.

WKU (19-8, 10-2), which has clinched a tie for the East Division, handled Ball State 84-79 last Saturday.

Most figure the two rivals will meet in the SBC Tournament finals March 11 in Bowling Green, as they did last season when the Hilltoppers bested the Cajuns 76-70 to deny them a ticket to the NCAA Tournament.

But that game will have to wait. Tonight, the Cajuns have the Hilltoppers at their place.

The rest of the story

Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com

[NewsCopy]

Every time Western Kentucky beats a Sun Belt Conference opponent in E.A. Diddle Arena, the record for the longest home court winning streak in the league gets a little more impressive.

The Hilltoppers have won 25 home conference games in a row now. The last time they lost at home is still burned into the minds of the players.

Louisiana beat WKU 86-77 on Jan. 29, 2000. When the game ended, the Ragin’ Cajuns proceeded to dance on the Toppers’ home court.

“We still remember that,” senior Nate Williams said. “That’s something I will remember as long as I am here. This may be my last chance to get some more revenge on them. That’s just more motivation to want to beat them.”

Western Kentucky plays at Louisiana on Wednesday night to see just who is the top team in the league this year. Both teams enter the game – which will be nationally televised on ESPN2 at 8:30 p.m.– with only two conference losses.

This is the third straight season both the Hilltoppers and Cajuns have been at the top of the SBC standings and that, along with UL’s impromptu dance party three years ago, has all the makings for a big-time rivalry.

“We’ve been the best team in the league and Louisiana has been right there. That makes for some strong rivalries and strong emotions,” WKU coach Dennis Felton said. “I’m sure they see it as an extremely big game.”

There’s not many games within the Sun Belt that could be classified as a grudge match, but Louisiana heads up the list.

“I would think they are our biggest rival,” Williams said. “They have a lot of tough competitors and we like to compete. Any time two teams like that meet up, it’s going to be a good game.”

To make things even more heated, WKU has eliminated Louisiana in three of the past four SBC Tournaments, including last season’s championship game.

“I suppose they have a lot of pent-up frustrations when it comes to us because they haven’t beaten us in so long, yet they’ve been a very, very good team in their conference,” Felton said. “We also ended their hopes for an NCAA Tournament last year and that only compounds the frustration.”

This is the third straight season that the Louisiana WKU game has been the Sun Belt’s lone regular-season national telecast.

But just because the game is on TV doesn’t make it such a big deal to the players.

“You gotta call Mom and the rest of the family to let them know it’s on TV,” Williams said. “But other than that, it’s just another camera.”

One thing that television does have an impact on is the number of fans that turn out.

Louisiana has been near the top of the conference in attendance all year, and will likely get its biggest crowd of the season Wednesday.

“I expect a crazed environment. They are having a great season and I know their fans have to be excited about what they are doing,” Felton said. “I think them and their fans see this as a big showdown game. I expect it to be the kind of game that you would see when it’s all or nothing.” of the family to let them know it’s on TV,” Williams said. “But other than that, it’s just another camera.”

One thing that television does have an impact on is the number of fans that turn out.

Louisiana has been near the top of the conference in attendance all year, and will likely get its biggest crowd of the season Wednesday.

“I expect a crazed environment. They are having a great season and I know their fans have to be excited about what they are doing,” Felton said. “I think them and their fans see this as a big showdown game. I expect it to be the kind of game that you would see when it’s all or nothing.”

The source of the story

By OJ Stapleton,
ojstapleton@bgdailynews.com
270-783-3239