From the Ragin' Cajun athletic department

For the second straight game, an opponent erased a second half, double-digit lead and stole a win from Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns men’s basketball team. McNeese used a 21-5 run in the second half to come surging back and claim the 69-66 victory on Wednesday night at Burton Coliseum in Lake Charles, La.

 The Cajuns dropped their fourth straight contest to fall to 1-5. The Cowboys are now 3-3 on the season.

 UL opened the contest knocking down five of its first six shots for an early 13-2 lead by the 16:33 mark. Randell Daigle and Travis Bureau were a combined 3-for-3 from three-point range.

 The Cowboys would close to within four points but a 13-2 run by UL stretched the score to 26-11 with 10:28 remaining.

 A 7-1 run by McNeese brought them to within nine points at the 6:59 mark, 27-18. It was the closest they would come to threatening the Cajuns lead for the remainder of the half.

 UL finished the first half shooting 65.2 percent from the floor (15-23) including an impressive 66.7 percent from beyond-the-arc (6-9), to claim a 43-25 lead at the break.

 UL struggled in the opening minutes of the second half. It wasn’t until Scottie Farrington hit two free throws at the 16:37 mark that the Cajuns were able to put points up on the scoreboard. The Cowboys meanwhile rattled off eight points to close the gap, 45-33.

 Nine turnovers to start the second half also gave McNeese the chance to cut it to single digits, 48-46, at the 10:22 mark.

 During the Cowboys’ 21-5 run, UL failed to hit a field goal (0-6), scoring all of their points from the charity stripe.

 A three-pointer from McNeese at the 8:33 mark gave the Cowboys their first lead of the night, 49-48.

 The lead would change two more times until Daigle knocked down a trey to give UL a 53-51 lead with 7:33 left.

 The score would see four more lead changes and three ties over the next four minutes as the Cajuns and Cowboys would be even at 59-59 with 3:32 remaining.

 With less than a minute remaining, the Cajuns still found themselves trailing, 67-66, after Bureau hit a pair of free throws.

 The Cajuns had a chance with 22.2 seconds left after the Cowboys were called for travelling. But Daigle’s jumper missed its mark and UL was called for a foul sending McNeese to the free throw line. The Cowboys made both leaving UL just 3.8 seconds for the final basket.

 A contested jumper from Daigle did not fall and McNeese grabbed the win.

 Bureau notched his second double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Daigle joined him in double figures with 13 points and four boards. Farrington chipped in eight points and seven rebounds.

 The Cajuns finished the night, shooting 50.0 percent from the floor (20-40) with a poor 5-of-17 effort in the second half (29.4 percent).

 The Cajuns will return to the road this weekend with a trip to New Orleans. UL will face Tulane on Saturday, Dec. 4 at 2 p.m. CT at Fogelman Arena. 

Box Score

Louisiana vs McNeese State

12/1/10 7 p.m. at Lake Charles, La

At Lake Charles, La                       

MCNEESE STATE 69, LOUISIANA 66

LOUISIANA (1-5)

Bureau, Travis 5-8 5-7 17; Daigle, Randell 5-11 0-0 13; Perez, David 3-8 0-0

8; Farrington, Scottie 2-2 4-12 8; Gary, La'Ryan 2-4 2-2 7; Thomas, J.J. 1-2

4-4 6; Mbamalu, Bryant 2-2 0-0 4; Mitchell, Javan 0-0 2-4 2; Andrews,

Raymone 0-2 1-2 1; Batiste, Colby 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-40 18-31 66.

MCNEESE STATE (3-3)

Richard, Patrick 8-13 6-6 24; Kapelan, Diego 4-12 4-4 14; Alawoya, P.J. 2-4

4-7 8; Collins, C.J. 2-10 3-4 7; Martin, Stephan 2-5 1-2 6; Mitchell,

Jeremie 2-4 2-6 6; Queen, Tyson 0-1 2-2 2; Richard, Daniel 0-3 2-4 2;

Konate, Mari 0-0 0-0 0; Fields, Adrian 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-52 24-35 69.

Louisiana          43        23        66

McNeese State            25        44        69

3-point goals--Louisiana 8-18 (Daigle, Randell 3-7; Bureau, Travis 2-3;

Perez, David 2-5; Gary, La'Ryan 1-1; Andrews, Raymone 0-2), McNeese State

5-22 (Kapelan, Diego 2-7; Richard, Patrick 2-5; Martin, Stephan 1-3;

Mitchell, Jeremie 0-1; Collins, C.J. 0-6). Fouled out--Louisiana-Gary,

La'Ryan, McNeese State-Alawoya, P.J.. Rebounds--Louisiana 33 (Bureau, Travis

10), McNeese State 36 (Alawoya, P.J. 13). Assists--Louisiana 10 (Daigle,

Randell 3), McNeese State 5 (Alawoya, P.J. 3). Total fouls--Louisiana 27,

McNeese State 22. Technical fouls--Louisiana-None, McNeese State-None. A-978

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