Elijah Gonzales dribble vs. Ragin' Cajuns 2021
88
Winner Louisiana LA 14-7,8-6 Sun Belt
72
La.-Monroe ULM 5-16,3-11 Sun Belt
Winner
Louisiana LA
14-7,8-6 Sun Belt
88
Final
72
La.-Monroe ULM
5-16,3-11 Sun Belt
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Louisiana LA 45 43 88
La.-Monroe ULM 38 34 72

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

ULM Falls to Hot-Shooting Ragin’ Cajuns in Series Finale, 88-72

MONROE, La. – Mylik Wilson and Ty Harper combined for 39 points to lead Louisiana Lafayette to an 88-72 win over ULM in Fant-Ewing Coliseum on Saturday, Feb. 13. As a team, the Ragin' Cajuns hit a season-high 14 3-pointers to earn a split in the Sun Belt Conference home-and-home series.
 
Elijah Gonzales' 3-pointer from the top of the circle gave ULM an 11-8 lead with 14:56 to go in the first half. Harper's 12-foot jumper in the lane sparked a 17-3 run as the Ragin' Cajuns took a 25-14 lead after Wilson turned a steal into a 3-point play with 10:08 on the clock. ULL made six-straight field-goal attempts while the Warhawks committed seven turnovers and went 1-of-2 from the floor during a stretch of 4:12.
 
Louisiana Lafayette (14-7, 8-6 Sun Belt) led by as many as 12 points in the opening half.
 
Russell Harrison scored on a post-up move on the left block and followed with an 18-foot jumper from the right baseline as ULM (5-16, 3-11) cut its halftime deficit to seven points at 45-38.
 
The Ragin' Cajuns shot 60 percent (15-of-25) from the field in the first half, including 78 percent (7-of-9) from behind the 3-point arc. The Warhawks hit 16-of-26 shots (62 percent) from the floor, including 3-of-7 3-pointers, in the first 20 minutes.
 
"Lafayette got momentum when those 3s started to go down in the first half, and they never looked back," ULM head coach Keith Richard said.
 
Louisiana Lafayette put together a 10-2 spurt and extended its lead to 67-47 on Harper's 3 with 11:44 left in the second half. ULM answered with an 11-5 run and pulled to within 72-58 on a three-point play from Luke Phillips with 7:51 remaining, but the Warhawks failed to close the gap any further.
 
A layup by Wilson gave the Ragin' Cajuns their largest lead at 82-58 with 4:37 to go.
 
For the game, Louisiana Lafayette shot 57 percent from the floor (30-of-53), including 64 percent (14-of-22) on 3-pointers. The Ragin' Cajuns also rebounded ULM, 31-21.
 
"The 3 ball was a big weapon for them," Richard said. "They didn't shoot it that well on Thursday night (5-of-16 3-pointers), but it caused us a lot of problems this afternoon. Give Lafayette a lot of credit because trying to defend the 3-point line opened up the post. They hurt us inside as well, and we had a hard time rebounding when they did miss. That's a bad combination. They were very difficult for us to guard.
 
"It was hard enough to stop them, but when they did miss, we needed to get those rebounds and we didn't. It was a frustrating game on our defensive end. I need to look at the film to see exactly what happened. Why did we give up so many 3s? Allow so many points? And allow Lafayette shoot such a high field-goal percentage? It's difficult to win when an opponent shoots 57 percent, especially on your home floor. We gave up 14 made 3s – that's tough to overcome."
 
Wilson, who made 6-of-10 shots from the field and all seven free-throw attempts, scored 13 of his game-high 20 points in the second half. He added six rebounds, seven assists and two steals.
 
Harper connected on 7-of-9 field-goal attempts, including a perfect 5-for-5 from 3-point range, and finished with a season-high 19 points.
 
The Ragin' Cajuns also got 16 points and seven rebounds from Theo Akwuba.
 
Harrison reached double figures for his fifth-straight game, hitting 8-of-14 field-goal attempts and finishing with 17 points to pace the Warhawks. Gonzales contributed 15 points and five assists while Josh Nicholas netted 10 points off the bench.
 
"Elijah Gonzales continues to do a good job for us," Richard said. "He brings a lot of energy and helps get people open with his dribbling. Elijah's also knocked down some big shots for us. I only wish he was about 6 inches taller. He's done everything we had hoped for when we signed him, but maybe we ask a little too much of him at times."
 
ULM concludes its home schedule next weekend with a Sun Belt Conference series against Little Rock: Friday, Feb. 19 at 6 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 20 at 4 p.m. 
 
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