Men’s Basketball: Eight feels great

Men’s Basketball: Eight feels great

Joshua Parrott • jparrott@theadvertiser.com • February 18, 2011

Thanks to another monster performance by J.J. Thomas and some clutch free-throw shooting, UL kept its winning streak alive.

Leslie Westbrook/lwestbrook@theadvertiser.com UL’s La’Ryan Gary goes to the basket on Arkansas State’s Brandon Peterson on Thursday night during a game at the Cajundome

One of the liveliest crowds in recent memory at the Cajundome saw it happen.

Thomas scored 18 points and the Ragin’ Cajuns made all 12 of their free-throw attempts in the final four minutes to squeak past Arkansas State, 64-61, on Thursday night. UL guard Raymone Andrews celebrated the win by heaving the ball into the electric crowd of 5,304 after the final buzzer.

"Free throws were big for us tonight," said Thomas, a freshman forward from Opelousas. "We were good at the line."

Actually, the Cajuns (11-14, 8-5 Sun Belt) were better than good. They were perfect when it mattered most.

UL made 15-of-15 free throws in the second half, including all six after Arkansas State tied it at 58 with 77 seconds left. Overall, the Cajuns finished 23-of-27 at the line to survive despite shooting 35 percent from the floor and failing to make a field goal in the final 5 minutes, 23 seconds.

With its eighth straight win — tied for the fifth-best active streak in the country — UL moved into a tie for second place in the league’s West Division with Arkansas State (14-14, 8-5). Denver (13-13, 9-4) holds a one-game lead atop the division with two weeks left in the regular season after Thursday’s 65-37 win over UL Monroe.

The win was even more special for first-year UL coach Bob Marlin, whose mother traveled from Tupelo, Miss., to watch her son on the sideline for the first time since he took the job last spring.

"We knew Arkansas State was going to give us a fight, and they did," Marlin said. "We played solid down the stretch and were able to win at the free-throw line."

UL, which led by as many as 14 points early in the second half, won for the seventh time in the past eight meetings against Arkansas State. The nail-biting win avenged a 74-65 loss to the Red Wolves on Jan. 13 in Jonesboro.

La’Ryan Gary (14 points) and Randell Daigle (12 points) joined Thomas in double digits for the Cajuns.

Rashad Allison poured in a game-high 26 points for Arkansas State, but it wasn’t enough to win on the road. Donald Boone had 10 points, and Martavius Adams added nine points and seven rebounds before fouling out with three minutes left.

"You’ve got to give Lafayette credit," said Arkansas State coach John Brady, whose team had won four consecutive conference games. "They defended us well. They played hard, and they’re athletic. They’re a good team, but we’re a good team, too. It was a close game, and we weren’t able to pull it out."

Arkansas State certainly had its chances.

After holding the Red Wolves scoreless for the game’s first 4:24, the Cajuns built a 29-18 halftime lead behind 10 points from Thomas.

UL’s lead stretched to 14 early in the second half before Arkansas State pulled ahead for the first time on Edward Townsel’s layup, 42-41, with 10:55 left.

The pesky Red Wolves hung around and tied it 58-58 at the 1:17 mark with a Trey Finn jumper. Andrews broke the tie with a pair of free throws with 44.9 seconds remaining.

After an Arkansas State timeout, Allison had a chance to tie it again with 19.8 seconds to go but missed his first free throw. Allison hit his second attempt to make it a one-point game.

Thomas inbounded the ball to Daigle, who was fouled by Allison. Daigle made both free throws to stretch UL’s lead to 62-59.

Boone missed a 3-pointer that would have tied it on the other end, but Daigle’s free throws were huge as Allison grabbed the rebound and converted the layup. That trimmed the Arkansas State deficit to one with 7.8 seconds on the clock.

"Allison just took over," Gary said of Allison, who had 18 points in the second half. "He made some tough shots."

The Cajuns did, too.

After getting fouled by Boone, Thomas drained a pair of free throws to give UL a 64-61 lead with 5.3 seconds remaining.

Arkansas State had one last chance, but Townsel — a former UL recruit — got called for a double-dribble violation on the ensuing possession. The Cajuns then inbounded the ball and ran out the clock to escape with the win and their longest winning streak since the 2003-04 season.

"If we would have played better in the first 15 minutes of the game, we would have walked out of here with an 8- or 10-point victory," Brady said. "So it’s on us."

Instead, UL will go for nine consecutive wins at 7:05 p.m. Saturday against Western Kentucky (13-13, 7-6) in the Cajundome. The Hilltoppers edged Arkansas-Little Rock, 61-59, on Thursday, but no one in the Sun Belt is as hot as the Cajuns right now.

"Our guys are playing with confidence," Marlin said. "We were able to hang on and made the clutch plays tonight. We’ll definitely take this win."

Athletic Network Footnote:

Click here for the photo gallery of the Jan. 21-22, 2011 Basketball Reunion

Click here for the January 18, 2003 Basketball Reunion

Click here for the Nov. 1-2, 2001 Shipley Basketball Reunion

Rebounders Club Meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 22nd…noon, Abacus Station, 510 W. Pinhook Rd….lunch is $13
Geaux Cajuns, Karren Hays 288-2163