Louisiana Men’™s Basketball Cruises Past West Florida in Season Opener

LAFAYETTE – Sophomore newcomer Jordan Brown propelled Louisiana Men’s Basketball past West Florida, 81-47 in the 2021-22 season opener Tuesday night at the Cajundome.

 

In his first game in a Louisiana uniform, the second-generation Ragin’ Cajun filled up the stat sheet with 14 points, seven rebounds, three blocks and a team-high four assists.

The Roseville, Calif., native set the tone early, scoring 12 of his points in the first half. 

Redshirt-freshman forward Kobe Julien got it done on both ends of the court recording 12 points while adding three blocks and a steal.

In his first career start, second-year walk on Kentrell Garnett contributed a career-high 10 points on 4 of 7 shooting from the floor. The freshman matched a team high with two field goals from beyond the arc.

Reigning Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year Theo Akwuba dominated the paint along with Brown, grabbing eight rebounds and scoring nine points in the contest.

Louisiana got out to a blistering start in their first action at the Cajundome in 260 days. The Ragin’ Cajuns went on a 17-4 run in the opening seven minutes to set the pace. The run was capped off with a fastbreak layup from Julien.

The teams battled back and forth down the stretch in the first half. Louisiana extended its lead to 19 on a dunk by Akwuba with just under a minute remaining before the break.

The Argonauts tried to keep pace early in the second half, but a 12-0 Ragin’ Cajun run pushed the contest out of reach. The quick offensive burst, which spanned just under two minutes of game time was propelled by 3-pointers from junior guard Greg Williams Jr. and Garnett.

Louisiana locked down defensively throughout and generated 16 steals which resulted in 12 points. In addition, the combination of Brown and Akwuba allowed the Ragin’ Cajuns to control the paint as the team outscored West Florida by a 46-22 margin around the basket.

Louisiana will be back in action on Friday when they travel to Hattiesburg, Miss. to take on future Sun Belt foe Southern Miss. at 7 p.m. The game will be available to be live streamed on ESPN�.

For the latest on Louisiana Men’s Basketball, stay tuned to RaginCajuns.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (RaginCajunsMBB).