Cajun Comeback!! Louisiana Beats Georgia State 84-80

The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns spotted Georgia State a 17 point lead then came roaring back to beat the Panthers 84-80 in front of a season high 4,531 at the CAJUNDOME.

Louisiana (10-5, 4-0 Sun Belt) got balanced scoring with five players in double figures, including a season high 20 points by senior transfer Brian Williams.  Shawn Long picked up his 41st career double double with 16 points and 13 rebounds.  Devonta Walker chipped in 15 points, while Jay Wright contributed 15 and Kasey Shepherd ten.

Georgia State was led by their one-two punch of R. J. Hunter and Ryan Harrow.  Hunter scored 27 points on 8-17 shooting, including 5-9 from beyond the arc.  Harrow, who scored 37 in the Sun Belt FInals loss to the Cajuns in New Orleans last March, tallied 25 points, shooting 11-21 from the field.  T. J. Shipes added ten for the Panthers before fouling out with under a minute to play.

The game started like the Panthers (9-6, 2-2) were going to blow the Cajuns right off their home court.  Georgia State scored the first nine points of the game in just over two minutes and stretched the lead to 16-3 with 12:33 left in the first half.  The Cajuns did not hit double figures in the scoring column until Steven Wronkoski nailed a three pointer with 9:20 to go in the half.  The Panthers stretched the lead to 17 points on two different occasions, the last on a Harrow layup with 6:10 to go in the first half.

The lead was still at 16 points, 37-21 with 3:49 to go when the Cajuns started their comeback.  Brian Williams hit two free throws and then converted a Jay Wright steal into a dunk to cut the margin to twelve.  Wright hit a free throw and Devonta Walker had an old fashioned three point play to get the Cajuns within single digits, 37-31 with 2:24 left.  Long then hit a layup to cap a 10-0 run.  Snipes hit a layup to get the lead back to eight points, but Wright hit a jumper and Shepherd hit a three to get the Cajuns within three.  Harrow had a layup for the final Panthers' points of the first half.  But Wright hit a three pointer and made a free throw to cap the 19-4 run and the Cajuns trailed by only one at halftime, 41-40.

The Cajuns got their first lead of the night on a Wright triple with 18:20 to play and stretched the lead to six points on another Wright three pointer with 16:46 to go, 50-44.  But then it was the Panthers' turn to have a run of their own.  Harrow scored six points of a 9-0 Georgia State spurt to put the Panthers up by three, 53-50.  Georgia State stretched the lead to six points on three different occasions, the last at 65-59 with 10:25 left.

The Cajuns battled back and got the lead back on a Walker dunk with 6:20 on the clock and Williams hit a layup and pair of free throws to cap a 9-0 run and give the Cajuns a five point lead 73-68.  Georgia State answered with a 9-2 run of their own, with Hunter scoring five of the points to give the Panthers their final lead, 77-76 with 1:23 on the clock.

Louisiana took the lead for good on a pair of Walker free throws with :52 remaining and after Hunter missed a triple, Kasey Shepherd hit a pair of free throws to make it an 80-77 game with :16 left.  The Cajuns fouled Harrow who made both free throws with just under :09 left, but Walker answered a couple of seconds later.  Leading by three, the Cajuns chose to foul Hunter, who made the first free throw and purposely missed the second.  Kevin Ware got the offensive rebound but could only manage an off balance attempt that missed.

Williams hit two free throws with :00.1 remaining for the final margin.

During the early going, the Cajuns compensated for nine turnovers and 38% shooting by getting fouled in the act of shooting and knocking down 9-12 free throws before their 19-4 run.  The Cajuns wound up making 14-19 in the first half compared to just 1-2 for the Panthers.

For the game, Louisiana was a sparkling 81.6% from the free throw line (31-38), including 17-19 after intermission.  Meanwhile the Panthers managed just 9-15 in the second half.

The Cajuns will now have a bye on Saturday before heading to Georgia Southern to take on the Eagles and the league's leading scorer in Jelani Hewitt next Thursday in Statesboro.