Andre Jones 3-pointer at ULL 2022
Ben Massey
74
La.-Monroe ULM 13-15,5-11 Sun Belt
79
Winner Louisiana LA 12-13,7-8 Sun Belt
La.-Monroe ULM
13-15,5-11 Sun Belt
74
Final
79
Louisiana LA
12-13,7-8 Sun Belt
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
La.-Monroe ULM 39 35 74
Louisiana LA 30 49 79

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

ULM Drops Another Heartbreaker Against Rival Ragin’ Cajuns, 79-74

LAFAYETTE, La. – Kobe Julien scored 19 of his career-high 26 points in the second half and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Louisiana Lafayette to a 79-74 victory over ULM in the Cajundome Saturday night, as the Ragin' Cajuns completed a Sun Belt Conference regular-season series sweep over the Warhawks. The Ragin' Cajuns won the season series by a combined total of six points after taking the first meeting of the season Thursday night in Monroe, 78-77.
 
"We lost the game, but I'm really proud of our players," ULM head coach Keith Richard said. "They played hard out there again tonight, and it's been an on-going theme with this team.
 
"Obviously, we weren't perfect at times, but at other times, we really played well. It was another good game like Thursday night. It had to be an entertaining game for the fans to watch. Both teams did a lot of good things, and it's a shame that one of us had to lose."
 
Game 2 of the season series featured eight lead changes and eight ties.
 
Louisiana Lafayette (12-13, 7-8 Sun Belt) scored seven-straight points early and took a 9-3 lead on Jalen Dalcourt's slam dunk in transition with 17:08 to play in the first half. Andre Jones hit a jumper from inside the top of the circle to spark a 9-2 run as ULM grabbed a 12-11 advantage on a steal and dunk by Koreem Ozier with 15:29 left. The Ragin' Cajuns countered with another 7-0 spurt and built their largest lead at 18-12 on Dou Gueye's deep 3 from beyond the top of the circle with 13:01 on the clock. ULM (13-15, 5-11) answered with an 8-2 run and tied the score at 20-all as Elijah Gonzales hit a runner from the right side of the lane with 9:46 remaining. With the score tied at 27-all, Russell Harrison made back-to-back layups and Ozier followed with a step-back 3-pointer from the left corner, a 3 from the left wing and a layup as the Warhawks took their biggest lead at 39-27 with 35 seconds to go in the opening half. The Ragin' Cajuns cut their halftime deficit to 39-30 on Julien's trey with :18 left.
 
As a team, ULM shot 52 percent (15-of-29) from the field, including 5-of-13 from 3-point range, in the first 20 minutes. Jones (14) and Ozier (12) combined for 26 first-half points to pace the Warhawks. By comparison, the Ragin' Cajuns were limited to 36 percent (12-of-33) field-goal shooting, including just 3-of-13 3s.
 
The Ragin' Cajuns outscored ULM, 12-5, over the first 4:53 of the second half to pull to within 44-42 on a pair of free throws from Gueye. The Warhawks responded with a 9-0 run as Gonzales connected on a 3 from the top of the circle and Nika Metskhvarishvili converted a traditional three-point play and followed with a 3 from the top of the circle in transition for a 53-42 advantage with 13:23 on the clock. Julien's 3-pointer from straightaway fueled a 16-5 spurt as the Ragin' Cajuns rallied to tie the score at 58-all on Dalcourt's rebound dunk off a missed 3 with 7:21 remaining in the game. ULM managed to grab four-point leads on three occasions over the next two minutes – the last time at 66-62 on a 10-foot bank shot from with Metskhvarishvili 5:09 left. The Ragin' Cajuns took the lead for good at 72-70 on a pair of free throws from Julian with 1:57 on the clock. Louisiana Lafayette made 7-of-8 free-throw attempts in the final 1:57 to ice the game.
 
"This game came down to the wire," Richard said. "It was a tie game with two minutes to go, and like all close games, plays are either made or not made in those critical moments. A foul here. A missed shot there. A defensive rebound. All of those little things add up, and unfortunately, we came up short.
 
"As a coach, I'm so proud of the way our team continues to compete the way they are this late in the season. Obviously, I wish we had more wins to show for it, but if we keep playing like this and keep competing like this, something is going to go our way down the stretch. That was my final message to the players: just keep it up and good things will happen."
 
The Ragin' Cajuns outscored ULM from the free-throw line, 22-13, including 19-9 in the second half.
 
"The free-throw line was the difference in the game," Richard said. "They go 27 times; we go 16. Lafayette was more aggressive driving it in the second half."
 
Louisiana Lafayette hit 61 percent (14-of-23) of its field-goal attempts over the final 20 minutes. The Ragin' Cajuns outrebounded the Warhawks, 38-28, and held an advantage in fast-break points, 20-13, and points in the paint, 36-30. ULM enjoyed a 19-10 edge in points off turnovers.
 
Julien, who recorded his second career double-double, made 7-of-14 shots from the floor, including 2-of-6 3-pointers, and went a perfect 10-for-10 from the free-throw line.
 
Dalcourt, who netted 16 points in Thursday's one-point win at ULM, followed with a career-high 17-point effort Saturday night.
 
Julien and Dalcourt combined to account for 12 of the Cajuns' final 17 points. Louisiana Lafayette also got 10 points from Gueye in his final appearance in the Cajundome.
 
ULM placed four Warhawks in double figures, led by Jones, who finished with a team-high 20 points to go along with five assists and a career-best seven steals. Jones, who has led the team in scoring in six consecutive games with 20 or more points, hit 7-of-15 field-goal attempts, including 2-of-4 3, and all four of his free-throw attempts.
 
Ozier contributed 16 points and matched his career high with nine rebounds.
 
"Koreem has always been a good defensive rebounder," Richard said. "We needed him in there tonight, especially with some of the bigger guys Lafayette has in the lineup. It was good so see him play pretty well on both ends of the court."
 
Metskhvarishvili came off the bench to score 17 points, hitting 5-of-10 shots from the field, including 2-of-4 3-pointers, and 5-of-7 from the charity stripe. Gonzales, who made 5-of-8 field-goal attempts including 2-of-5 3s, added 12 points.
 
ULM closes out the Sun Belt Conference regular-season schedule on the road next week, beginning at Georgia State on Wednesday, Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. ET, followed by Georgia Southern on Friday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. ET. The Sun Belt Conference Championship is scheduled for March 3-7 in Pensacola, Florida.
 
 
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