#1 Little Rock Ousts Cajuns from SBC Tournament 72-65

The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns run in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament came to and end Saturday as top seeded Little Rock ran out to a fourteen point lead in the first half and withstood a Cajuns' rally, taking a 72-65 win and advancing to the tournament championship game.

Jalen Jackson scored 13 of his sixteen points in the first half to pace Little Rock to a ten point halftime lead, while Josh Hagins hit big shots in the second half to finish with 15 points.  Lis Shoshi and Marcus Johnson, Jr. each contributed 13 points to the balanced Trojans' attack.

Shawn Long scored 25 points on 10-15 shooting in the contest, while Kasey Shepherd added fifteen points, all in the second half.  Long's 25 points moved him into third place on the Cajuns' all time scoring list, passing Kevin Brooks.

A cold shooting first half and crucial turnovers doomed the Cajuns, as Louisiana made only 9-27 shots in the first half, including 1-9 from three point range.  Louisiana turned the ball over 18 times in the game, and Little Rock took advantage, outscoring the Cajuns in points off turnovers, 27-6.

The Cajuns (17-14) trailed by just four points, 18-14 with 8:18 left in the first half, but Little Rock (28-4) went on a 13-3 run to take their biggest lead, 31-17 four minutes later.as the Cajuns missed four straight shots and turned the ball over twice.  But the Cajuns got back to back baskets by Long and Devonta Walker to cut the lead to 33-23 at the half.

Shoshi's layup started the second half scoring before Long's three point basket started a 15-3 Cajuns' run, with Long scoring nine points, that tied the game at 38 with 12:00 remaining.  But after the two teams traded baskets, Roger Woods hit a layup and Hagins drilled a 24 footer to open the lead to five points and Little Rock never trailed again.

Little Rock got the lead back to double digits, , 55-45 with 8:10 to play.  The Cajuns had one last rally, cutting the lead to one possession, 66-63 with 2:25 to play.  But the Cajuns turned it over on two of the next three possessions and Little Rock was able to lengthen the lead.

The Cajuns will wait for a post-season invitation, while Little Rock will play for the automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament at 12 noon on ESPN2.