Cajuns down Troy for seventh straight win

Marlin ties Reinhardt for second place in career wins; Louisiana earns SBC win No. 300

LAFAYETTE – Greg Williams, Jr., scored a game-high 21 points to lead four players in double figures and the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Men’s Basketball team got off to a torrid start from the floor in earning a 72-57 Sun Belt Conference victory over Troy for its seventh straight victory on Thursday at the Cajundome.

The win for Louisiana (17-4, 7-2 Sun Belt) was its 300th overall in Sun Belt Conference play with head coach Bob Marlin earning his 238th career victory on the Ragin’ Cajuns bench, tying him with J.C. “Dutch” Reinhardt for second place on the school’s all-time list.

Playing without leading scorer Jordan Brown (illness), Louisiana had enough firepower as Terence Lewis II posted a double-double with 14 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Themus Fulks added 12 points and seven assists for the Ragin’ Cajuns with Kobe Julien scoring a season-high 11 points, including a pair of 3-pointers.

Louisiana jumped out to a 22-5 lead with 13:10 remaining in the first half after a 3-pointer by Julien capped an 11-0 run. Julien, who finished 4 of 5 from the floor, would score six points in an 8-0 run with a three-point play and 3-pointer helping Louisiana push its lead to 36-11 with 5:32 left in the half.

Williams, who was 9-for-15 from the floor, took over in the second half for Louisiana scoring 15 points including a putback dunk off a Joe Charles’ miss from behind the 3-point line.

Troy (13-9, 5-4 Sun Belt) outscored Louisiana in the second half, 40-31, and got to as close as 65-51 on Zay Williams’ 3-pointer with 3:45 remaining.

Louisiana held Troy to 40 percent aim (21-for-52) from the floor and 2-for-12 from behind the 3-point line. The Ragin’ Cajuns staged a commanding 41-17 lead at the break as they held the Trojans to 6-for-24 from the floor while going 16-for-31 (52 percent) from the field and 6-for-8 from behind the 3-point line.

Kieffer Punter led Troy with 16 points with Christian Turner adding 12 and Williams 11. Louisiana forced 15 turnovers while holding a 34-31 advantage on the glass.

Louisiana will continue its four-game homestand on Saturday when it hosts Georgia Southern in a “White Out” game at 7 p.m. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ and can be heard in the Lafayette area on KPEL-FM (96.5) and worldwide on the Varsity Network app.

Single-game tickets are available by visiting the Louisiana Athletics Box Office at the Cajundome, purchasing by visiting Account Manager. For more information call the Louisiana Athletics Box Office at the Cajundome at (337) 265-2104.

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For the latest on Louisiana Men’s Basketball, stay tuned to RaginCajuns.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (RaginCajunsMBB).