Men’s Basketball: Gary’s 22 Leads UL To 10th Straight

Men’s Basketball: Gary’s 22 Leads UL To 10th Straight

Men’s Basketball: Gary’s 22 Leads UL To 10th Straight

 

Box Score

 

In front of a season-high 8,066 fans on Senior Night, La’Ryan Gary scored a career-high 22 points as the Ragin’ Cajuns captured a 58-52 overtime win against Denver at the Cajundome on Thursday night.

The win was the 10^th straight for the Cajuns (13-14, 10-5 Sun Belt) and is currently tied for the second longest streak in the nation. The win also keeps UL atop the West Division, tied with Arkansas State. Denver (13-15, 9-6 SBC), who entered the game tied for first with UL and ASU, now sits in third place.

On his final night in the ‘Dome, Gary led UL on 5-for-9 shooting and went 12-of-15 from the charity stripe. He also posted a career-high five blocks to go along with three rebounds and two steals.

The squads two other seniors, Randell Daigle and Travis Bureau had six points and five points, respectively. Bureau pulled down a team-high six boards.  While they didn’t light it up from floor, both made huge momentum plays late in the game to turn the tide.

The Cajuns had trouble finding their shooting stroke early on, missing on their first three attempts. J.J. Thomas’ three-pointer at 13:31 marked UL’s first field goal of the night but still managed to hold an 8-6 lead.

The Cajuns then began to heat up. Another trey, this time from Travis Bureau, capped off a 7-2 run that put UL ahead, 15-8, with 9:10 left in the half.

The scoring slowed back down for the Cajuns and the Pioneers took advantage. DU eventually chipped away at the score, drawing to with four points, 18-14, just under the four-minute mark.

A 7-2 run from Denver gave the visitors’ their first lead since 13:40. With 1:44 left in the half, the Pioneers led 21-20. The visitors held on to the lead heading into the break, 24-22.

Denver carried the lead until a lay-up from Gary knotted the score, 28-28, with 16:12 left on the clock.

The score went back and forth over the next four minutes, holding even at 38-38. But two quick turnovers by the Cajuns on their next trips down the floor, quickly turned into four points for the Pioneers.

The Cajuns closed to within two, 42-44, by the 7:36 mark. But with out a field goal for over six minutes, DU built up a 48-43 advantage by the four-minute mark.

But over the next minute, UL knocked down a basket and connected on three straight free throws to bring it back all-square, 48-48, with 3:00 showing on the clock.

The score held firm for nearly two minutes as both teams forced the other into turnovers.

Denver broke the stalemate on a pair of free throws with 1:00 minute remaining

With 25.7 seconds remaining, Gary connected on a pair of free throws of his own to retie the game back at 50-50.

Denver had a chance for the last shot with 17.1 on the clock but could not connect after having two tries at tipping the ball back in at the buzzer.

In the extra time, Gary took matters into his own hands, scoring seven of the Cajuns eight points, giving UL the win.

The two teams posted nearly identical statistics. The Cajuns shot 45.9 percent (17-37) compared to Denver’s 43.5 (20-46). The Pioneers narrowly won the battle of the boards, 27-26, while UL committed fewer turnovers, 15-16.

UL will now hit the road for the final game of the regular season. The Cajuns will face La.-Monroe for the second time this season on Saturday at Fant-Ewing Coliseum. Tip-off is set 7:00 p.m. CT.

The season-best crowd of 8,066 was the third largest crowd in the Cajundome since 2001-02. It also helped the Cajuns’ lead the Sun Belt this season in home attendance for league games. UL averaged 4,742 fans at each home Sun Belt game.

While it did not reach 10,000 as issued by the Cajuns’ 10 for 10 challenge, fans will still be able to get $10 off the purchase of next year’s season tickets with tonight’s ticket. Fans must  kept the ticket as the ticket will serve as the $10 voucher. One discount per seat. Valid on new accounts and renewals