Bartley, Gant spark Louisiana to win over Richmond in Cayman Islands Classic

GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands – Frank Bartley scored 19 of his team-high 23 points in the season with JaKeenan Gant scoring 14 of his 16 after intermission as the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns men’s basketball overcame a second-half deficit and defeated Richmond, 82-76, in the third-place game a the inaugural Cayman Islands Classic on Wednesday at John Gray Gymnasium.

Marcus Stroman scored a career-high 15 points while Justin Miller scored a season-high 15 points on 6-for-8 shooting as Louisiana (4-2) trailed by as many as eight points in the first half and 42-33 on De’Monte Buckingham’s layup with 17:51 remaining in the contest.

Bartley, who was named to the All-Tournament team, went 9-for-9 from the free throw line and recorded three of his career-high six steals after halftime as the Ragin’ Cajuns went on a 23-8 run in the second half to take a 60-52 lead with 10:23 remaining.

Richmond (1-4), which last season reached the NIT quarterfinals for the second time in three years, responded by scoring the next 14 points with Solly Stansbury capping the spurt with a free throw for a 66-60 lead with 7:05 left.

But the Cajuns bounced back as Gant scored six of the team’s next eight points, including a go-ahead dunk with 5:42 left for a 68-66 lead. Miller followed with a putback off a Gant miss and Stroman scored on a steal and layup that closed a 12-0 Louisiana run for a 72-66 lead.

A 3-point by Richmond’s Nick Sherod closed the gap to 72-69 with 4:02 remaining, but the Spiders would not get any closer missing their next six shots from the floor while Louisiana used an 8-1 run that was capped by a pair of Stroman free throws in the final 30 seconds.

Louisiana finished 27-for-53 (50.9 percent) from the floor and was 24-for-31 (77.4 percent) from the free throw line, including 18-for-21 in the second half. Stroman finished 4-for-7 from the floor for the Ragin’ Cajuns and dished out six assists as Louisiana shot 16-for-26 (61.5 percent) in the second half and outscored the Spiders, 52-42.

Bryce Washington pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds for Louisiana with Gant going 6-for-9 from the floor with five rebounds and three blocked shots.

Grant Golden led Richmond with 24 points, going 10-for-14 from the floor and 2-for-2 from behind the 3-point line. Buckingham added 11 points and a game-high eight assists for the Spiders with Jacob Gilyard adding 10 points and five assists.

Louisiana will return to action on Tuesday (Nov. 28) when it plays host to I-10 rival McNeese in a 7 p.m. game at the Cajundome.