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Men’s Basketball: Balanced Effort Leads Louisiana Past LSU-S, 84-73Three players post double-doubles as Louisiana wins 10th straight home opener
LAFAYETTE – Dou Gueye and Theo Akwuba each posted double-doubles with 17 point and 11 apiece and the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Men’s Basketball team won its 10th straight home opener with an 84-73 victory over a scrappy LSU-Shreveport squad on Saturday at the Cajundome.
Mylik Wilson added a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds as Louisiana (2-1) placed four players in double figures while recording its seventh game in school history with three or more players recording a double-double in a single-game.
Brayan Au added 14 points as the Ragin’ Cajuns improved to 30-7 all-time in home openers while winning its 350th game at the Cajundome.
Gueye, who finished 8-for-11 from the floor, started a 17-0 run in the first half for Louisiana with a 3-pointer and dunk before Au drilled a 3-pointer and Wilson followed with a layup. Akwuba, who went 6-for-6 from the floor and 5-for-5 from the free throw line, added a pair of buckets for Louisiana before Cal transfer Jacobi Gordon drained a 3-pointer for a 21-9 lead at the 13:20 mark.
LSU-S, which was playing the game as an exhibition and has won 22 straight games dating back to last season, used an 18-4 run to regain the lead late in the first half behind three 3-pointers by Nate Levine along with a pair of buckets by former Ragin’ Cajuns letterwinner Kadavion Evans.
A bucket by Evans at the 8:10 mark of the first half opened an 11-0 run for the Pilots as Levine buried a pair of 3-pointers while Royce Hunter connected on his lone 3-pointer of the game as LSU-S took a 35-31 lead at the 6:10 mark.
Louisiana trailed 58-53 on a bucket by Leondre Washington with 13:17 remaining before using a 24-4 run to take the lead for good. Akwuba’s three-point play with 8:20 remaining gave Louisiana the lead for good, 64-62, before Wilson added a second three-point play on the Ragin’ Cajuns next possession for a 67-62 cushion.
Cedric Russell, who was held to 3-for-12 shooting, buried back-to-back 3-pointers that pushed Louisiana’s lead to 73-62 before consecutive baskets by Devin Butts gave the Ragin’ Cajuns their biggest lead of the game, 77-62, with 5:43 left.
Louisiana finished 33-for-70 from the floor and held a decisive 50-34 advantage on the glass against the smaller Pilots.
Evans led LSU-S with 24 points with Jeff Boyd posting a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds. Levine added 11 points off the bench for the Pilots, who went 27-for-73 (37.0 percent) from the floor and 9-for-31 from behind the 3-point line.
Louisiana will return to action on Tuesday (Dec. 8) when it hosts LSU Alexandria in a 6 p.m. contest.
The Cajundome will operate at a significantly reduced capacity for the 2020-21 season (unless state COVID-19 policy changes during the season). This will allow for fans and University students to be accommodated this season. The Department of Athletics will quickly communicate any schedule adjustments or changes to attendance protocols through its social media channels and RaginCajuns.com.
Getting tickets for Ragin’ Cajuns Men’s Basketball is available through mobile ticketing from Ticketmaster. Download the #GeauxCajuns app on your smart phone to begin the process.
For more information on Men’s Basketball tickets, fans can call the Louisiana Athletics Ticket Office at (337) 265-2170.
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