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Men’s Basketball: Cajuns Win Streak Snapped In 73-60 Loss At GeorgiaATHENS, Ga. – The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns men’s basketball missed its first nine shots of the game while Georgia scored the game’s first 11 points and never trailed in claiming a 73-60 victory on Wednesday at Stegeman Coliseum. Preseason All-SEC selection Yante Maten posted a double-double with 18 points and 15 rebounds as Georgia (6-3) used its length to block 11 shots and hold Louisiana (8-3) to a season-low in scoring and field goal percentage (28.8 percent). "We got off to a poor start in the first half, missing our first nine shots and falling behind 11-0," head coach Bob Marlin said. "We never got into a rhythm in the first half. We were able to make a little bit of a run as Justin (Miller) hit some 3’s and we were able to get back in it. But their (Georgia’s) transition hurt us. "We defended well enough, but they took away our transition because they had three guys back and we missed, their two big guys (Maten and Derek Ogbeide) just played ping-pong in there and were able to score every time." Justin Miller scored 17 points to lead Louisiana, which had its eight-game win streak snapped. Bryce Washington recorded his ninth double-double of the season with 11 points and a career-high 18 rebounds while Frank Bartley recorded his first career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Louisiana trailed 11-0 before scoring its first points of the game at the 16:28 mark when Miller sank a pair of free throws. Nearly three minutes later, Bartley recorded the first bucket for the Ragin’ Cajuns when he drained a 3-pointer with 12:17 remaining in the half that cut the Bulldog lead to 17-8. Georgia, which went 28-for-68 (41.2 percent) from the floor, pushed the lead back to double-digits on two free throws by J.J. Frazier with 9:02 left in the half before taking a 34-17 lead on a Mante dunk with 4:21 remaining. Miller scored the last 12 points to get Louisiana to within 38-29 at halftime as the freshman sank three 3-pointers and added a three-point play. The Ragin’ Cajuns opened the second half with a 9-2 run as a 3-pointer by Bartley with 17:17 remaining cut the deficit to 40-38, but a jumper by Juwan Parker, 3-pointer by Frazier and layup by Kenny Paul Geno pushed Georgia’s lead to 47-38 and the Bulldogs never let Louisiana get as close as six points for the rest of the game. Frazier, one of two preseason first-team All-SEC picks for Georgia, added 15 points for the Bulldogs with Parker adding 14. Derek Ogbeide scored nine points, grabbed 13 rebounds and blocked six shots for Georgia with Maten adding five blocks in the contest. Louisiana will return to action on Saturday (Dec. 17) when it travels to Lakefront Arena to face former Sun Belt Conference member New Orleans in a 2 p.m. contest. The game will be televised on Cox Sports Television.
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