Men’s Basketball: Cajuns get it done for family against Nicholls

Tim Buckley, The Advertiser, Dec. 1, 2016

It wasn’t Mother’s Day on Thursday night at the Cajundome.

But it may as well have been.

UL beat Nicholls 101-69 in their newly modeled arena, and among the moms on hand to watch were those belonging to Ragin’ Cajuns big man Scott Plaisance and freshman forward Justin Miller.

Plaisance had 10 points for UL in the blowout victory, which marked the 5-2 Cajuns’ fifth win in a row.

His mother DoBee coaches Nicholls’ women’s team and was in the house to watch.

“I had a little chip on my shoulder,” said Plaisance, who scored his 10 in just eight minutes of action on 5-for-6 field shooting.

He had eight of his 10 in six first-half minutes.

“I was just trying to show that I come from good genes,” Plaisance said, “(and that) my mom teaches well.”

For whom was she rooting?

“Hopefully me,” Plaisance said.

Miller, meanwhile, had 18 points on 9-for-13 field shooting in front of his mother, Cindy.

“She drove in from Kentucky,” Cajuns coach Bob Marlin said, “so I know he was excited to play well in front of his mom.”

PLAYERS OF THE GAME

The Cajuns had six scorers finish in double figures.

Frank Bartley IV led the way with 19, Miller had his 18, P.J. Hardy 12, Bryce Washington 11 along with 10 rebounds for a double-double, Jerekius Davis 10 and Plaisance his 10.

Davis’ late trey pushed the Cajuns past the 100-point plateau for the second time this season.

WHAT HAPPENED

Bartley and starting point guard Jay Wright both got into early foul trouble.

But with two freshmen starting – Miller and Roydell Brown – and Plaisance, Jerekius Davis, P.J. Hardy and Jacob Broussard all among those helping off the bench, UL was in command early.

The Cajuns led by double digits for the final four-plus minutes of the opening half.

“It was huge,” Bartley said of the bench play, which also included seven points in 20 minutes from junior Johnathan Stove.

“Like we’ve been preaching all year, our freshmen are helping a lot. Roydell (Brown) has been playing wellwell. J.D. (Davis) came in and got a bunch of rebounds (five total). It’s been really helpful.

“Obviously it’s frustrating for me and Jay (Wright) to be on the sideline for that long, but those guys – we rely on them so much, and they practice just as hard as we do, so we trust them, and Coach trusts them too.

“So we don’t have a problem with them being on the court,” Bartley added. “We’re glad that they go out there and play hard, and they keep it going when we’re out.”

UL led 48-35 at halftime, and 4-4 Nicholls of the Southland Conference never cut the Cajun lead below 10 after the break.

The Cajuns shot 58.8 percent from the field, including 60.6 percent in the first half.

PLAY OF THE GAME

Bartley had a steal early in the second half and a dunk on the other end – and in-between he passed to himself, with Tre O’Neal as the victim, to start his personal fastbreak.

“It was just natural reaction,” Bartley said of the quick dribble, which helped put UL up 54-39. “He stopped right there, and I just (went) between his legs.”

A subsequent steal and dunk by Bartley made it 71-50, and the Cajuns cruised from there.

WHAT’S NEXT

UL is in the midst of a non-conference stretch with 4-of-5 at home.

Thursday night’s game also opened a stretch of four straight games against in-state opponents for the Cajuns, with McNeese State, Loyola of New Orleans and Louisiana Tech to follow.

UL visits McNeese State of the Southland in Lake Charles on Saturday, then returns for two more at the Cajundome.

LAGNIAPPE

Marlin said the Cajuns received special permission to wear black uniforms because it was their first game in the refurbished Cajundome, whose $22 million makeover features a black seating arrangement. But they probably wear those uniforms at home again this season, he added. … Hardy got into the game late, Marlin said, because he had car trouble and was late to practice earlier this week. … DeAndre Harris led Nichols with 21 points.