Men’s Basketball: Thomas shackled by foul trouble

Men’s Basketball: Thomas shackled by foul trouble

Bruce Brown • bbrown@theadvertiser.com • March 7, 2011

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. — J.J. Thomas became something of a folk hero in his first year playng for UL’s Ragin’ Cajuns, the now-famous focal point of the fans’ "fear the beard" campaign.

His performance helped coach Bob Marlin’s squad raise itself from the ashes of a 3-14 start to a remarkable 14-14 finish and co-championship of the Sun Belt Conference’s Western Division.

It was one of those "pinch me" campaigns. Until Sunday night.On Sunday in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Tournament at the Summit, Thomas got whistled for early fouls and never found his game. He was shut out in the first half and managed just one basket before fouling out with 7:05 to play as the Hilltoppers won 81-76 and put and end to the Cajuns’ remarkable late-season surge.

"He picked up two quick fouls, and I think that worried him," said WKU’s Sergio Kerusch, who had 25 points for the Toppers. "We got to him mentally and physically. I think that (foul trouble) was on his mind."Our plan was to go at him. Let’s get him out of there. He got his fourth one quick, and that shut it down."

To a man, the Hilltoppers remembered the damage done by Thomas when the two teams met in the Cajundome during the regular season.He poured in 25 points, ignited a take-charge early run in front of a rabid home crowd, and UL hung on for a 67-64 victory.

"We changed the matchup from the first game," WKU Coach Ken McDonald said. "That game, we started with Sergio on Thomas. They were very aggressive at home, and he got into a rhythm early. Tonight we started with Steffphon Pettigrew on him."He didn’t get much in the first half (0 points, two fouls), and that was partly foul trouble. In the second half, we played help side defense and stayed in front of him. He was a big key in the first game, and is a terrific player."

The Cajuns led 39-36 at half despite Thomas’s woes, and a 9-point run had UL ahead 48-44 early in the second. Then Thomas picked up his fourth foul with 13:56 remaining, and the Toppers went on a 22-7 run to take control of the game which included the fifth foul whistled to the bewildered young Cajun with 7:03 to go."J.J. is a big part of our team, and when he’s not out there we miss him," said UL’s La’Ryan Gary.

"He could have helped us out," Josh Brown said."They went at him from the first possession," Marlin said. "Because of fouls, he didn"t get to play."

"Give the Cajuns credit," McDonald said. "Other players stepped up, and they pushed us to the end.""It was a one-possession game with two minutes to go," Marlin said. "We were right there. We fought to the finish against a team that had been in six straight (SBC) semifinals. Our all-conference players scored 2 points, and their two (Kerusch and Pettigrew) had 25 apiece (Pettigrew had 26)."We dodged a lot of bullets during the streak. Tonight, we didn’t dodge one."

On Sunday night, the Cajuns didn’t have enough of J.J. Thomas to keep their season alive.

Athletic Network Footnote:

Click here for the photo gallery of the Jan. 21-22, 2011 Basketball Reunion
(Over 300 photos in eight links and New Stories Link has over 40 stories)

Click here for the January 18, 2003 Basketball Reunion

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