Jay Wright willed the Ragin' Cajuns to a win against the UNO Privateers, but the victory didn't come easily out in New Orleans.

UNO went on an 11-4 run to start the second half, and they stole the lead away from Louisiana. The Ragin' Cajuns didn't steal the lead back until the final minute of play, but they held on to pick up their ninth win of the season, 76-71.

Wright led all scorers with 27 points, one point shy of his season high, in an effort indicative of his leadership. The only senior on the roster came through in the clutch.

Head Coach Bob Marlin said after the game that Wright promised him the win when things weren't going their way in the second half.

"He told me during one of the timeouts in the second half when it was a one possession game, 'Coach, we're not going to lose this game. I'm not going to let it happen,'" Marlin said.

Louisiana had to battle poor officiating, some cold streaks shooting the basketball and a feisty UNO team to come away with a victory, but they picked up a hard fought win in front of tons of Cajun fans who made the trip down to New Orleans for a basketball-football double-dip.

Yet again, Bryce Washington had a herculean performance on the boards. The Sun Belt's leading rebounder collected 14 more against UNO, and he was two points shy of another double-double with eight points.

Justin Miller and Frank Bartley were the only two other Ragin' Cajuns to reach double-digits in the scoring (Miller 11, Bartley 10), but Louisiana had eight different players contribute points in the win. UNO gave them trouble at points and outshot the Cajuns 50 percent (26-52 FG) to 38 percent (25-65), but Louisiana's late surge was enough to lead them to another win.

A lot of football fans filled Lakefront arena to get a glimpse of Coach Marlin's team, and the players didn't disappoint Cajun Nation.

With the win, the Ragin' Cajuns improve to 9-3 on the year, with only one game left before the start of Sun Belt Conference play. Their next game will be on Tuesday against Pepperdine (tipoff at 7:00 pm), back in the friendly confines of the Cajundome.

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