Coastal Carolina came into Saturday night's contest with the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns leading the Sun Belt Conference in rebound margin.

But in the first half of the contest at the Cajundome, it was the Cajuns who flexed their rebounding muscle.

The Cajuns outboarded the visitors 21-9 before intermission in building a 43-29 halftime lead and defeated the Chanticleers 81-64 before 4,150 at the Cajundome.

Frank Bartley IV led four Cajuns in double figures with 22 points.  Malik Marquetti added 17, Jonathan Stove came off the bench to score 16 and Bryce Washington had another double double with eleven points and twelve boards.

Zac Cuthbertson had a huge second half for Coastal Carolina (7-10, 1-3 Sun Belt) scoring 21 of his game high 23 points after intermission.  Demario Beck added 14 points and Jaylen Shaw scored 13.

Leading just 23-22 with 8:00 remaining in the first half, the Cajuns turned up the heat on defense, allowing just two field goals and force six turnovers to build the big lead at the half.  Stove and Marquetti each hit a pair of triples during that time, with Marquetti's second one coming at the buzzer.

The Cajuns (14-3, 4-0) never led Coastal get closer than ten points in the second half, despite shooting just 35% after intermission.  Louisiana got to the free throw line repeatedly and nailed 23-24 freebies in the second half and finished the game 29-33 compared to 12-18 for the visitors.

Louisiana also shared the basketball, garnering 16 assists on 21 made field goals, with Marcus Stroman and Washington leading the way with six apiece.  The 38-28 advantage on the boards marked only the third time this season the Chanticleers have been outrebounded.

The Cajuns will be back in action next Saturday against ULM at 7:00 pm.

 

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