Fast start, season-best scoring defense fuel Cajuns to SBC quarterfinals win

PENSACOLA, Fla. – A strong first half and stout defense throughout the game propelled the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns men’s basketball team to a 67-49 victory over Georgia Southern in the Sun Belt Tournament quarterfinals on Saturday at the Pensacola Bay Center.

In the opening stanza, Louisiana shot 51.6-percent (16-31) from the floor and outrebounded the Eagles, 19-9, while forcing 10 turnovers. Jordan Brown and Terence Lewis II led the Ragin’ Cajuns with 10 points and six rebounds each while Jalen Dalcourt buried three 3-pointers.

After Georgia Southern cut the Louisiana lead to 9-6 with 13:17 left, the Ragin’ Cajuns went on an 11-4 run over the next two and half minutes to take a 10-point lead. Louisiana took its largest lead of the first half, 18, as Lewis stole a pass and made a driving layup to give UL a 37-19 advantage with 3:44 remaining.

Leading 39-24 at the break, Georgia Southern came out in the second half and cut the lead to nine, 41-32, before Louisiana went on a 7-0 run to bump the lead back up to 16.

The Ragin’ Cajuns continued to dominate and led by as many as 23 in the second half with 4:13 remaining.

Brown finished with a game-high 16 points and 13 rebounds while Lewis also registered a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds to go along with a team-high 3 assists. For Brown, it was his fourth straight double-double.

Georgia Southern’s 49 points were the lowest by an opponent all season as Louisiana held them to 1-of-15 from beyond the arc as the Eagles missed their first 14 3-point attempts.

Louisiana outscored Georgia Southern, 32-26, in the paint and the bench provided a spark for the Ragin’ Cajuns, scoring 27 points to Georgia Southern’s 19.

The Cajuns are back in action Sunday at 7:30 p.m. as they take on Texas State in the semifinals. The game can be seen on ESPN+.

2023 Hercules Tires Sun Belt Men’s Basketball Championship

Tuesday, February 28
Game 1 – (13) Arkansas State 86, (12) Coastal Carolina 69
Game 2 – (11) Texas State 81, (14) Georgia State 76

Thursday, March 2
Game 3 – (8) South Alabama 68, (9) App State 61
Game 4 – (5) Troy 63, (13) Arkansas State 59
Game 5 – (11) Texas State 65, (6) Old Dominion 36
Game 6 – (7) Georgia Southern 66, (10) ULM 57

Saturday, March 4
Game 7 – (8) South Alabama 78, (1) Southern Miss 61
Game 8 – (4) James Madison 75, (5) Troy 72
Game 9 – (11) Texas State 71, (3) Marshall 68
Game 10 – (2) Louisiana 67, (7) Georgia Southern 49

Sunday, March 5
Game 11 – (4) James Madison vs. (8) South Alabama – 5 p.m. CT
Game 12 – (2) Louisiana vs. (11) Texas State – 7:30 p.m. CT

Monday, March 6
Game 13 – Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 12 – 6 p.m. CT

All Times Central
All Games on ESPN+; Championship Game on ESPN2