SUN BELT MEN
LA.-LAFAYETTE 83, ARKANSAS STATE 73
Louisiana-Lafayette hit 7 of 12 three-pointers in the second half, helping the Ragin' Cajuns overcome a three-point halftime deficit for an 83-73 Sun Belt Conference victory Thursday at the Cajundome in Lafayette, La.
It was the ninth consecutive victory for Louisiana-Lafayette (14-8, 10-3 Sun Belt) as they moved to within a game of UALR, an 86-82 loser to Louisiana-Monroe on Thursday. Arkansas State (11-13, 7-6) has lost six of its past nine games.
ASU led 42-39 at halftime and maintained the lead until two free throws gave the Ragin' Cajuns a 61-59 lead with 10:21 remaining. The Red Wolves used an 8-2 run coming out of halftime to grab its largest lead of the night, 50-41, with 17:51 left in the second half.
Louisiana-Lafayette pulled within two, 57-55, with 13:04 remaining, but ASU's Charles Waters hit a jumper to get the lead back to four with 12:43 left. The Ragin' Cajuns went on a 16-4 run over the next six-plus minutes to lead the Red Wolves 71-63 with six minutes left.
The Red Wolves didn't go away as an 8-0 run over the next three minutes tied the score at 71-71. Frederic Dure hit a three-pointer and two free throws and Anthony Livingston made a three-pointer, but the Ragin' Cajuns closed the game on a 10-2 run.
Livingston's three-pointer with 3:33 left was the final field goal for the Red Wolves. After two free throws and two three-pointers by Louisiana-Lafayette made the score 79-71, Dure hit two free throws, but those were the final ASU points.
"Our guys played hard and we have no problem with how we played or what we stood for tonight," Arkansas State Coach John Brady said. "We lost the game, but they were better than us. They made big threes. They were 7-for-12 from three-point range in the second half and then had 18 offensive rebounds on the game, and if we eliminate six of those that might take away 12 points. Our inability to rebound late really hurt us tonight."
Dure led Arkansas State with 21 points. Livingston scored 15 points, Nouhoum Bocoum added 14 and Devin Carter chipped in with 11.
Despite scoring only two points in the second half, Long led the Ragin' Cajuns with 17 points and 15 rebounds.
Sports on 02/12/2016