Louisiana's Ragin' Cajun men's basketball team lost a Sun Belt Conference home game on Thursday night, falling to the FIU Panthers, 80-75, at the Cajundome.

The victory by FIU completes a two-game season sweep of Louisiana, having also one the first meeting, 75-70, back on January 5 in Miami, Florida.

The Panthers led at the half, 36-33, and outscored Louisiana, 44-42, in the second half, to leave with the five-point win.

A lay-up by Louisiana's Shawn Long tied the game, 72-72, at the 1:52 mark, but FIU responded, getting a lay-up from Jerome Frink at the 1:43 mark, and then two free throws from Cameron Bell at the :37 mark to go up by four points, 76-72, a lead which they would not relinquish.

The Cajuns out-shot the Panthers from the field, 47%-44%, but also turned the basketball over 17 times, compared to only 11 for FIU

Frink led the way for FIU, scoring 20 points, with Tymell Murphy chipping in with 16 points and 16 rebounds, while Louisiana was paced by the 22 points of Elfrid Payton and Alan-Michael Thompson, with Long adding 21 points and 14 rebounds.

With the win, the Panthers improved to 11-8 overall, and 6-4 in Sun Belt Conference play, while the Cajuns fell to 7-15 overall, and 3-8 in league play.

Louisiana returns to action on Thursday, January 31, when they host North Texas.

View the game box score.

 

 

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