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Cajuns Overcome Turnovers to Top OBU in Season Opener Click Here to View Box ScoreLAFAYETTE - In a game filled with turnovers and numerous fouls it was the defense which helped Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns men’s basketball team post a 76-68 victory over Ouachita Baptist here Friday evening at the Cajundome. The game marked the 2006-07 season opener for the Ragin’ Cajuns (1-0). Louisiana-Lafayette committed 31 turnovers and had 14 second half turnovers which allowed OBU to rally from a 41-30 halftime deficit. The Ragin’ Cajuns had 10 turnovers in the first 12 minutes of the second half and were outscored by the visitors 24-11, falling behind 54-52 with 7:27 remaining in the contest. The two teams traded baskets over the next three minutes and a Ross Mouton basket at 4:34 cut the Cajuns deficit to 63-62. From that point on Louisiana-Lafayette would hold the Tigers scoreless over the next four-plus minutes eventually pulling ahead for good. The Ragin’ Cajuns held OBU to zero points until a three-pointer by David Cornwell with 12 seconds remaining. OBU’s Jaranimo Marks missed a driving layup to break the streak of traded baskets. Rhett Hebert pulled down the rebound for the Cajuns and drew a foul on the other end of the court. Hebert missed both freebies, but Valentino Hart was in the right place for the rebound and a putback which gave the Cajuns a 64-63 lead – an advantage that the home team would not surrender. Free throws by David Dees and Hebert upped the UL lead to 67-63 with 2:23 remaining. After Hebert’s free throws, Memo Rodriguez would loose a pass of his foot for a Tigers turnover. Dees would turn the ball back over to OBU, but the Cajuns defense stood tall forcing two missed inside shots which gave UL the ball back. Mouton grabbed the rebound and hit a jumper at the 1:18 mark which upped the Cajuns advantage to six points, 69-63. Mouton led Louisiana-Lafayette with 26 points on 10-of-19 shooting. Rodriguez led all scorers with 27 point. In what was a physically played contest both teams combined for 54 fouls. OBU was whistled for 31 infractions which led to 44 free throw attempts by the Cajuns. The Tigers held a 14-9 lead 12:29 into the contest thanks to four three-pointers in the early minutes. UL was shooting 63 percent (5-of-8) eight minutes into the game, but eight turnovers were holding the hosts back. The Ragin’ Cajuns regained the lead with a pair of four-point spurts over the next two minutes. Dees hit a leaning jumper at 12:14 that helped the Cajuns cut the deficit to 14-11. Right after the media timeout Mouton hit a pair of free throws to make it 14-13. The Cajuns would force the Tigers to commit a traveling violation on the ensuing possession. Mouton was fouled on a putback attempt by Derrick Woods and would hit both free throws to put the Cajuns in front 15-14 at 11:15. The Tigers answered quickly when Woods would follow his own miss nine seconds later to give the visitors a 16-15 advantage. UL went back in front at 10:49 when a pair of Tyren Johnson free throws made it 17-16. Nine seconds later Cornwell was whistled for an offensive foul on a rebound attempt. The Cajuns were in the bonus free throw situation and Willie Lago finished off the second four-point spurt with two more freebies. The Tigers would score three unanswered points to even the game 19-19 at 10:11. The Cajuns followed with an 8-0 run to open their largest lead of the first half 27-19 with 7:56 on the clock. OBU would counter with a 6-0 run as the Ragin’ Cajuns committed three turnovers after Dees’ bucket. OBU crawled within two points at 27-25 with 6:26 on the clock. Two Cajuns possessions in the final 40 seconds created more breathing room for the hosts. A great defensive play led to five points which helped UL open a double-digit lead at halftime. Rodriguez intercepted an Hebert pass near midcourt and appeared to be headed for an easy layup. Great hustle by Dees allowed him to block the shot and the Cajuns raced back up the court where Mouton hit a jumper that pushed the Cajuns lead to 38-30. Marks missed a basket for the Tigers on the other end and the Cajuns pushed the ball back up the court where Hebert found Mouton for a wide-open three-pointer which he buried to give UL a 41-30 edge as the first half horn sounded. It was a physical opening frame between both teams – one marred by lots of fouls and plenty of turnovers. The two teams combined for 26 fouls (15 on OBU) and 30 turnovers. Louisiana-Lafayette hit 55 percent (12-of-22) of its baskets in the opening stanza, but 17 turnovers allowed the Tigers to stay within 11 at the break.
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