The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns opened up Sun Belt Conference play inside the Cajundome Wednesday night and did so with a 68-62 victory over the Appalachian State Mountaineers.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
CJ Huntley made a hook shot jumper to give App State a quick 2-0 lead but that would be the last time the Mountaineers would hold a lead in Wednesday night’s contest.
Louisiana responded as Kyran Ratliff dunk and Kyndall Davis hit back-to-back three-pointers. The Ragin’ Cajuns kept their foot on the gas as they pushed the lead up to 18 points. With 7:48 left in the first half, Louisiana led 23-5.
App State began the game shooting 12.5 percent on 2-of-16 shooting and missed their first six three-pointers.
Louisiana went nearly three and a half minutes without a bucket but Ratliff’s layup ended that drought. App State responded with a layup by Jalil Beaubrun which gave the Mountaineers double-digit points.
App State cut into the lead and cut it down to 11 points but Louisiana’s London Fields hit a three with four seconds left. At the break, the Ragin’ Cajuns led 35-21.
App State made their first three-pointer of the night as Dior Conners hit one with 15:08 left in the second half. Louisiana answered as Kentrell Garnett hit a three-pointer to make it a 16-point lead for the Ragin’ Cajuns.
App State cut the lead down to 11 points after a Conners second-chance layup with 5:45 to go. A little while later, Huntley made a layup that cut the lead to eight points with 3:28 remaining.
Bob Marlin’s squad responded as Michael Thomas hit a three-pointer to push the lead back up to double digits.
App State managed to cut it back down to six points with a Conners’ three with 2:07 left. Garnett hit a pair of free throws to make it an eight-point game and the Cajuns held on for the win.
BIG NUMBER I: 58
Louisiana held App State in check when it came to making buckets. The Mountaineers were held to 58 points in the SBC opener, which was the second-lowest output of the season. The lowest was App State scoring only 56 points in a loss at Wisconsin.
BIG NUMBER II: 4
App State entered the game shooting .349 percent from three-point range, but that number took a significant dip after Wednesday. The Mountaineers went 4-of-18 (.222 percent) from three-point range which was the second-worst three-point percentage in a game this season, and the second-least amount of threes made in a game.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: KYRAN RATLIFF & MOSTAPHJA EL MOUTAOUAKKIL
Ratliff gave the Ragin’ Cajuns an offense spark early on and ended the night with a double-double as he scored 10 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. El Moutaouakkil led the Cajuns with 15 points and also had eight rebounds.
UP NEXT: Louisiana (3-9, 1-0 SBC) will host old Interstate 10 rival McNeese on Sunday afternoon. Tip is set for 2 p.m.
