Freshman Justin Miller added 18 points on 9 of 12 shooting from the floor while freshman P.J. Hardy scored 12 points off the bench as Louisiana (5-2) won its fifth straight game after finishing 40-for-68 (58.8 percent) from the floor, including 20-for-33 (60.6 percent) in the opening half.

“It was a great night to open the Dome,” head coach Bob Marlin said. “When we walked on the court tonight, it was an awesome feeling and I know that our guys appreciated it. The crowd was super. The atmosphere was electric. We had a great student section … they came out in great numbers and cheered us on. Everything about tonight was fantastic.”

Bryce Washington notched his fifth double-double of the season for the Ragin’ Cajuns with 11 points and 10 rebounds with Scott Plaisance and Jerekius Davis each posting career-bests with 10 points each.

Louisiana, averaging 87.2 points per game entering the contest, scored the game’s first nine points and never looked back against Nicholls State (4-4). Four different players scored buckets for the Cajuns in the opening three minutes as Miller, Washington and freshman Roydell Brown each scored on short baskets with Bartley draining a 3-pointer.

The Colonels, who opened the season with a win at Boston College scored their first bucket of the game on a Liam Thomas putback before Ja’Dante Frye hit a 3-pointer that cut the Louisiana lead to 9-5 at the 15:43 mark.

But Louisiana pushed the lead to 15-5 after buckets by Miller, Washington and Bartley and the Ragin’ Cajuns would take a 24-9 lead on a dunk by Plaisance with 9:56 remaining in the first half.

Nicholls trailed 48-35 at halftime and closed to within 56-46 when Frye hit a 3-pointer with 15:49 remaining. But Louisiana would put the game with an 18-4 run over the next 5:23 as Bartley sank a pair of 3-pointers and added a breakaway dunk while Hardy capped the run with a 3-pointer for a 74-50 lead with 9:17 left.

Louisiana extended its lead to 85-55 after a steal and dunk by Jay Wright with 6:47 remaining and the Ragin’ Cajuns would not let Nicholls State get as close as 27 points the rest of the night.

DeAndre Harris scored a game-high 21 points to lead Nicholls, which finished 24-for-54 (44.4 percent) from the floor and 3-for-18 (16.7 percent) from behind the 3-point line. Frye added 15 points for the Colonels with Johnathan Bell adding 10.