Cajuns Steal Another From ULM, 67-65

The Ragin'Cajuns once again found a hero to hit a game winning shot against ULM Thursady night in the CajunDome. Sophomore Tyren Johnson hit a wide-open three-pointer 6.6 seconds remaining in regulation as the Cajuns defeated the ULM Warhawks, 67-65.

Johnson’s triple was his only shot attempt of the game and proved to be the one that helped Louisiana (11-13, 7-6 Sun Belt) to a first-place tie in the Sun Belt Conference’s West Division with UALR and Denver.

Early on in the first half, the Cajuns would hold as much as a four-point lead, 7-3, before ULM reeled off eight straight points for an 11-7 cushion.

Louisiana fell behind by six points, 16-10, after Hooper successfully converted a three-point play at the 8:49 mark of the first half. The Warhawks saw their lead increase to eight, 19-11, on a Brown triple from the right wing.

As the half progressed, the Cajuns continued to struggle to find a rhythm offensively until a 9-2 run cut the deficit to 21-20 with 4:44 left to play. But, the Cajuns would be held without a field goal for the remaining 3:48 of the period as ULM took a 29-22 lead into the locker room.

ULM extended its lead to double digits in the early stages of the second half, 36-25, before a Daigle triple brought the deficit to eight.

The Cajuns eventually rallied to a five-point lead on a Randall Daigle rebound and subsequent lay-up, 55-50 at the 11:19 mark in the second half.

Trailing by two with less than 30 seconds on the clock,Tony Hooper converted a three-point play to give the visiting Warhawks a one-point lead, 65-64.

Then, Johnson delivered the game-winner, sending the home crowd into frenzy, while also handing ULM’s second heartbreaking loss to the Cajuns this season.

La’Ryan Gary led the Cajuns with a career-high 17 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the floor, while connecting on 7-of-9 free throws. Randell Daigle added 16 points, including four triples. Elijah Millsap scored 10 second-half points, playing 17 minutes (all in the second half).

ULM 65

Payne, Jordan 4-5 10-12 20; Brown, Jonas 5-11 2-2 15; Hooper, Tony 4-16 5-6 13; Averette, Kenneth 3-6 2-4 9; Turner, Raphelle 2-7 2-2 6; Nweke, Afam 0-4 2-2 2; Boatner, Raschard 0-0 0-0 0; Hampton, Mitchell 0-1 0-0 0; Brasher, Lance 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 18-51 23-28 65.

LOUISIANA 67

Gary, La'Ryan 5-7 7-9 17; Daigle, Randell 5-9 2-2 16; Millsap, Elijah 3-5 4-7 10; Dison, Brandon 2-4 2-2 6; Milson, Abray 2-2 1-2 5; Gradnigo, Chris 2-6 0-0 4; Johnson, Tyren 1-1 0-0 3; Bureau, Travis 1-4 0-2 3; Wallace, Courtney 1-6 0-0 2; Dees, David 0-4 1-2 1; Lago, Willie 0-1 0-0 0; Bloom, Corey 0-1 0-0 0; Barksdale, Maurice 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-51 17-26 67.

Halftime: ULM 29, UL 22. 3-point goals--ULM 6-14 (Brown, Jonas 3-4; Payne, Jordan 2-3; Averette, Kenneth 1-1; Brasher, Lance 0-1; Hooper, Tony 0-5), Louisiana-Lafayette 6-17 (Daigle, Randell 4-6; Bureau, Travis 1-4; Johnson, Tyren 1-1; Dees, David 0-1; Lago, Willie 0-1; Bloom, Corey 0-1; Barksdale, Maurice 0-1; Millsap, Elijah 0-1; Gary, La'Ryan 0-1). A-3645