|
Men’s Basketball: Hanging 10Men’s Basketball: Hanging 10 Men’s Basketball: Hanging 10 Joshua Parrott • jparrott@theadvertiser.com • February 25, 2011 Standing at midcourt prior to his final home game, a teary-eyed La’Ryan Gary hugged fellow UL seniors Travis Bureau and Randell Daigle. After a pre-game ceremony honoring the trio, Gary shared a heartfelt message with his two teammates. "I told them, ‘I love y’all,’" Gary said. —» It was an emotional moment." Gary used the emotions of Senior Night to his advantage, willing the Ragin’ Cajuns to a 58-52 win over Denver in overtime on Thursday. The Lafayette native posted career highs in points (22), blocked shots (five) and minutes played (39) as UL won its 10th straight game, the second-longest active streak in the nation. "L.G. is a warrior," UL forward J.J. Thomas said of Gary, who missed last year after suffering a career-threatening knee injury at the end of the 2008-09 season. "He’s a real tough guy. We feed off his energy because he’s really out there on 1 1/2 legs. You don’t know if he’s going to have a good day or a bad day, but he’s always going to give it his all." Thursday was better than a good day for Gary. It was his best day as a Cajun. Gary played better than most people on two healthy legs in front of a frantic, season-best crowd of 8,066 in the Cajundome. He made 5-of-9 shots from the floor but did most of his damage at the free-throw line, hitting 12-of-15 attempts from the charity stripe. Held to three points in the first 20 minutes, Gary scored 12 points in the second half to help the Cajuns (13-14, 10-5 Sun Belt) force overtime. He had seven of UL’s eight points in the extra session and made 5-of-6 free throws in the final two minutes to complete the comeback. With the win, UL remains tied with Arkansas State atop the Sun Belt’s West Division with one game left in the regular season. The Cajuns can clinch at least a share of the divisional crown and a first-round bye in the conference tournament by beating UL Monroe on Saturday. To win the West Division outright they need to beat ULM and hope for an Arkansas State loss to Arkansas-Little Rock on Saturday. Denver (13-15, 9-6) dropped to third in the West Division after going into the night tied for first with the Cajuns and Arkansas State. Chase Hallam and Chris Udofia led four Pioneers in double figures with 13 points apiece, but Gary’s inspirational performance was too much for them to overcome in a game that featured 11 ties and 12 lead changes. I’ve always felt that he was a really good player, but he’s had bad luck in his career with those injuries," Denver coach Joe Scott said. "He’s done pretty well because he stuck with it, and that’s how you do well in life."
The game was tight throughout as neither team led by more than seven points the entire night. After the Cajuns took their biggest lead at 15-8 midway through the first half, Denver stormed back and went into the halftime break up 24-22. The Pioneers stretched their lead to 48-42 with 4:35 left in regulation and appeared to be pulling away. That’s when Josh Brown’s old-fashioned three-point play sparked an 8-2 run in which Gary made 4-of-4 free throws to tie it 50-50. Gary’s two free throws with 25.7 seconds left in the regulation tied the game at 50-all. Denver had a chance to win it in the final seconds, but Hallam and Udofia both missed shots near the basket as the game went into overtime. Brian Stafford’s jumper 30 seconds into overtime gave the Pioneers a 52-50 lead, but that was their last basket of the night. Gary answered with a baby hook shot in the lane then made 5-of-6 free throws in the final two minutes as the Cajuns won another thriller. After seeing Gary’s final numbers, UL coach Bob Marlin said one of the biggest understatements in recent memory: "He did a nice job." Thomas finished with 13 points for the Cajuns, while Daigle had six points and Bureau added five points and six rebounds in their final game in the Cajundome. Now UL’s goal is to beat ULM on Saturday to win at least a piece of the West Division championship and keep its win streak alive going into the Sun Belt tournament, which is March 5-8 in Hot Springs, Ark. Regardless of what happens moving ahead, Gary will always remember his final home game at UL. Scott will remember watching Gary on his special night, too. "He was rewarded tonight," Scott said. "You need to give him credit because he played well and kept fighting." 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 Click here for the Denver vs. UL Photo Gallery
|