This story is a copyrighted enterprise by Bruce Brown. 

Getting to the NCAA Tournament is tough enough. Winning once you get there is apparently even tougher.

With each passing year, the NCAA Regional victory over Oklahoma by Louisiana’s Ragin’ is more and more unique.

In fact, it’s been 20 years since that 87-83 triumph in 1992 in Tempe, Ariz.

Lafayette’s Eric Mouton was a key member of that team, the point guard who helped distribute the ball to the team’s scorers as well as its emotional barometer under coach Marty Fletcher.

This year is a landmark one for Mouton, in his fifth year as head basketball coach and athletic director at Ascension Episcopal School in Youngsville.

It was 20 years ago that the Cajuns beat OU, and it’s been 25 years since Mouton helped lead St. Thomas More to the state high school basketball crown.

"Both of them were great experiences," Mouton said. "You can really feel the St. Thomas More community behind you, and playing for UL you can feel the whole Acadiana community behind you.

"We had great support, great teams and great coaches. The stars were really aligned. You have to have a good team, but you also have to have a little bit of luck, to have the ball bounce your way.

"The support gave us momentum. We really fed off of that support."

STM won state in Mouton’s junior year, when he came off the bench. The Cougars were actually better the next year (finishing 38-2), but lost by a point in the title game. Both teams were coached by Danny Broussard, who is still at the school.

"That championship team had the perfect mixture of personalities and talent," Mouton said. "We didn’t have a great record. We just had the will to win. Once we started playing well, we were not going to be denied.

 "It was similar to UL in 1992, when coach Fletcher took Michael Allen out of the starting lineup and put me in. Michael was a scorer. I was more of a distributor. I was able to get Michael a lot of 3-point shots. It goes back to having the right combination of people on the court."

Actually, coming off the bench to make an impact worked well for Mouton.

"I never did mind," he said. "It’s actually an advantage. You have the chance to sit down and watch, and if you know how to watch the game correctly, you can see how to work the guard, see how he plays.

"It was my job to bring energy from the opening tip. Once I got my hands on the ball, we were going. I was also able to disrupt the other team by being able to steal the ball."

Mouton’s ability to see the game and analyze it is something he tries to teach his players at AES.

"I try to get my high school kids to see a play ahead," he said. "It doesn’t come naturally. But in this game, if you react, a lot of times you’re beat. You’re a step behind. Anticipating plays is such a big part of it. It’s very hard to teach, to try to guess what he’s thinking.

"I can be sitting on the bench, and if a defender moves here, I can tell my assistants what’s about to happen. That always helped me out on the court."

The 1991-92 Cajuns were led by seniors Mouton, Marcus Stokes, Tyrone Jones and Bobby Thigpen, along with Allen, Byron Starks, Carroll Boudreaux, Shawn Griggs and Todd Hill.

Their season didn’t start well. They stumbled to a 1-5 record out of the gate, but finished strong.

"You don’t want to play your best basketball in the first month," Mouton said. "In high school you want that to come in district play and the playoffs; in college, in conference and in the NCAA."

A late-season 70-60 win at UNO helped prepare the Cajuns for a strong finish. At the Sun Belt Conference Tournament in Biloxi, they defeated UNO 73-69 in overtime, Arkansas-Little Rock 64-61 and La. Tech 75-71 in the title game – all close games requiring top effort.

"Beating UNO in New Orleans was big, because that was always such a tough place to play," Mouton said. "They were big rivals, and had ended our seasons at times. That win got us believing.

"Then, to get them again in the Sun Belt tournament was a big game. They had some players who would be on NBA rosters, but we were not to be denied. Everybody bought into what we were doing.

"We sacrificed individual stuff in order to win. That’s not easy, but once you do, special things can happen."

The Sun Belt Conference champion Cajuns got assigned to Tempe against Oklahoma, and promptly stunned the Sooners in the opening round. It had been 19 years since the last NCAA win for the school at the time.

"The NCAA Regional was an incredible experience," Mouton said. "We were in the ‘Big Dance,’ and you had the big crowds, kids asking for your autograph. It was a dream, like seeing everything you’ve seen on TV. You had to soak it all in, then concentrate on the game.

"Defeating Oklahoma was special for the four seniors. It was something I’ll never forget."

Unfortunately, UL lost to New Mexico State 81-73 in the second round as NMSU shot some 35 free throws to fewer than 10 for the Cajuns. The late-season run was suddenly over.

"We definitely had a chance to win that game," Mouton said. "We had a chance to move on to a different venue and see a No. 4 or No. 5 seed, go to the Sweet 16. Then, all of a sudden, it’s over. It was the highest of highs, the lowest of lows.

"I remember taking that jersey off for the last time. I had experienced as high a moment as any experience in my life to that point. Then it’s all gone, it’s over.

"I remember the younger players talking about getting back to the NCAA, but as seniors, all we could do was say, ‘go get ’em.’ "

Like many young players, Mouton once dreamed of NBA glory – "but then I stopped growing," he said.

He has made a successful transition to coach and administrator instead.

Mouton was an assistant to Rickey Broussard at Nicholls State for one year, was head coach at Vermilion Catholic for a year, served under Fletcher at UL for three years, was head coach at Opelousas Catholic for two years and on staff at STM for eight years before taking over the fledgling AES program.