Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns needed a big performance to shake their road blues and they received a trio of outstanding efforts on Sunday afternoon at the Mitchell Center.  The group of Travis Bureau, La’Ryan Gary and J.J. Thomas combined for 54 points and 38 rebounds in leading the Cajuns to a 76-70 victory over South Alabama in overtime.

Louisiana (7-14, 4-5) has now won four straight games, while South Alabama (9-11, 3-6) snaps a two-game winning streak.

The Cajuns had lost 15 consecutive road games, last winning away from the Cajundome exactly one year ago, January 30, 2010 at La.-Monroe.

In overtime, UL struck first with baskets from Thomas and Randell Daigle.  A triple by USA’s Marino Brock closed the differential to one point, 69-68, with 1:56 left in OT.

Leading by three points, Raymone Andrews calmly hit two from the stripe to provide the Cajuns with a five-point cushion, 73-68, with 38.4 remaining.  Gary sealed the win with two free throws with 9.6 seconds left.

Trailing by as many as nine points in the second half, UL used a 12-4 run to slice the Jaguars lead down to one point, 58-57, with 4:58 remaining.  Javan Mitchell started the run with a strong basket in the post.  Thomas scored, followed by back-to-back three-pointers by Bureau and Daigle.  Bureau put the exclamation point on the run with a thundering dunk off an alley-oop pass from Gary.

Two from the stripe by Thomas and a lay-up by Gary gave the Cajuns their first lead since the 4:55 mark of the first half.  Following a timeout by USA, the Cajuns held a 61-60 lead with 1:34 to play.

An offensive rebound and put-back by Augustine Rubit reclaimed the lead for the Jaguars, but Bryant Mbamalu did the same on the other end just 16 seconds later to keep the Cajuns in front.  Rubit hit one-of-two from the line to tie the game with 41.8 seconds remaining.

The Cajuns had two shots at the end of regulation, but neither would fall.

Thomas recorded his fifth double-double of the season, finishing the night with a career-high 28 points and 13 rebounds in 42 minutes.  Bureau scored eight points and notched a career-best 20-board performance.  Gary posted 18 points and five rebounds in a season-high 36 minutes.

After a dead heat in the first half, the Cajuns were not ready to play coming back out of the locker room after halftime.  UL committed two early turnovers, helping the Jaguars score six points in the first 82 seconds.

USA was able to hold the lead thanks to a newfound success on the offensive glass.  The Jaguars out-rebounded the Cajuns 14-7 in the first nine minutes of the second half, including 9-2 offensively.  In addition, the Cajuns had four turnovers, while USA was without a miscue.

UL sprinted out to an early 7-1 lead in the game’s opening three minutes and held the lead until USA went on a run midway through the first half.  Several Cajuns turnovers contributed to an 11-0 jaunt by the hosts, who took a 22-17 lead with 9:58 remaining in the opening stanza.

Baskets by Thomas, Mitchell and Josh Brown around a jumper by Tim Williams tied the game at 24 apiece at the 7:45 media timeout.

The game remained tied, 27-27, at the final media timeout (3:49) of the first half and stayed even after 20 minutes.

The Cajuns dominated the boards in the first half, holding a 20-11 edge.  The paint presence contributed to the Cajuns outscoring the Jaguars 24-10 in the paint and 14-2 on second chance points.

UL returns to action on Saturday, February 5 vs. UALR at the Cajundome.

Athletic Network Footnote:Click here for the photo gallery of the Jan. 21-22, 2011 Basketball Reunion http://athleticnetwork.net/site1894.php 

Click here for the January 18, 2003 Basketball Reunion  http://athleticnetwork.net/site266.php

Click here for the Nov. 1-2, 2001 Shipley Basketball Reunion    http://www.coachshipley.com/beta/scrapbook.php