Men’s Basketball: Akwuba Records Double-Double in Louisiana Men’™s Basketball’™s Loss at Marshall

LAFAYETTE – Theo Akwuba’s double-double performance was not enough to lift Louisiana Men’s Basketball past Marshall on Tuesday night as the Ragin’ Cajuns fell 93-79 at the Cam Henderson Center.
 
Akwuba’s 10 point, 10 rebound effort was the 13th double-double of his career and the first this season.
 
Greg Williams Jr. led Louisiana with 18 points behind an efficient 3-of-6 night from beyond the arc. The Lafayette native also knocked down all five of his opportunities from the charity stripe.
 
Second-year walk-on Kentrell Garnett continued his impressive start to the season, the junior buried three 3-pointers in the first half and finished the contest a perfect 4-for-4 from outside.
 
Newcomer Jordan Brown contributed 11 points along with eight rebounds and two blocks.
 
Marshall clung to a thin lead during the game’s opening stretch with Louisiana utilizing 3-pointers and efficient shooting at the free-throw line to keep pace.
 
The Ragin’ Cajuns converted a season-high 83.3 percent (20-24) of their shots from the line in the game including 92.3 percent (12-13) in the first half.
 
Louisiana’s previous high percentage on the season was 64.3 against Xavier (La.) (Nov. 17).
 
Marshall pushed the lead to eight, its largest of the opening half, with just under nine minutes remaining, but a pair of 3-pointers from Garnett and seven points from Williams, Jr. guided a 31-18 run Ragin’ Cajun run and gave Louisiana a five-point lead at the break.
 
After exchanging baskets for several possessions, Marshall regained the lead five minutes into the second half. The Thundering Herd tried to break free at several moments but were continually stifled by the Ragin’ Cajuns 3-point shooting. Louisiana was 9-of-20 shots from beyond the arc on the night.
 
The game flipped at the halfway point of the second period as Marshall forced a number of critical turnovers down the stretch and stalled Louisiana’s offensive rhythm, closing the contest on a 34-19 scoring run.
 
The Ragin’ Cajuns will be back in action at 11 a.m. Saturday when they return home to face Jackson State. The game will be available for live stream 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).