Cajuns Take 10-Point Victory Over UNO 67-57

Louisiana's Ragin'Cajuns rallied from 32-23 halftime deficit to UNO, to outscore the Privateers 44-25 in the second half for the comeback victory.

After erasing a 12-point second-half deficit, Louisiana is off to one of its best Sun Belt Conference starts in program history as the Ragin’ Cajuns posted a dominating 67-57 victory over in-state rival UNO.

The 10-point victory marked Louisiana’s (7-7, 4-0 Sun Belt) first 4-0 start in SBC play since 1999-2000. It was also Louisiana’s first 3-0 home start in league play since the 2002-03 season.

Senior guard David Dees scored a team-high 14 points with five rebounds, while Randell Daigle chipped in 13 points, including two late three-point field goals and four critical free throws in the last minute. Courtney Wallace pulled down a game- and career-high-tying nine rebounds.

All-Sun Belt guard Bo McCalebb led all scorers with 26 points. James Parlow added 13 points before being ejected after receiving two technical fouls late in the game.

New Orleans held Louisiana to 29 percent from the floor on 9-of-31 shooting, while connecting on 1-of-12 from beyond the three-point arc in the first half. The Cajuns’ 23 points in the first half were the second-fewest this season (UL scored 21 at ULM on Dec. 16).

The Cajuns held UNO to 25.9 percent from the floor on 7-of-27 shooting, while connecting on 1-of-5 from beyond the three-point arc in the second half. New Orleans scored only 25 points in the second half as well.

Saturday night’s crowd of 5,621 was the largest at the CAJUNDOME since Feb. 19, 2005, when 6,954 fans watched Louisiana defeat North Texas 80-67.

Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns return to the hardwood Thursday, Jan. 10, when they travel to Little Rock, Ark., to face the UALR Trojans. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.

NEW ORLEANS 57

McCalebb, Bo 7-18 11-14 26; Parlow, James 3-8 6-7 13; Reynolds, Shaun 3-10 0-0 7; Dykes, Kyndall 2-8 3-4 7; Elias, Ben 2-5 0-0 4; Garrison, Zeke 0-0 0-0 0; Souleymane, Asrangue 0-0 0-0 0; Tyrna, Jaroslav 0-0 0-0 0; Manning, Jacob 0-1 0-0 0; Myers, Kechan 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 17-54 20-25 57.

LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE 67

Dees, David 5-10 4-7 14; Daigle, Randell 3-7 4-5 13; Bloom, Corey 3-5 0-0 8; Gary, La'Ryan 1-4 5-6 7; Wallace, Courtney 3-7 0-3 6; Lago, Willie 2-2 0-0 5; Bureau, Travis 2-7 0-0 4; Milson, Abray 2-3 0-2 4; Millsap, Elijah 1-4 0-0 2; Dison, Brandon 1-4 0-0 2; Johnson, Tyren 1-3 0-0 2; Gradnigo, Chris 0-5 0-0 0. Totals 24-61 13-23 67.

Halftime: UNO 32, UL 23. 3-point goals--New Orleans 3-11 (Parlow, James 1-4; Reynolds, Shaun 1-3; McCalebb, Bo 1-4), Louisiana-Lafayette 6-23 (Daigle, Randell 3-6; Bloom, Corey 2-4; Lago, Willie 1-1; Bureau, Travis 0-5; Millsap, Elijah 0-1; Johnson, Tyren 0-1; Gradnigo, Chris 0-2; Dees, David 0-3). A-5621