LAFAYETTE, La. ? Randell Daigle connected on a three-pointer from 35 feet as time expired Saturday to lift Louisiana-Lafayette to a 67-65 basketball victory over the University of South Alabama at the Cajundome.
Daigle’s shot answered a three from Domonic Tilford with 2.4 seconds left that had given the Jaguars (11-9, 4-5 Sun Belt) a one-point advantage.
Those were the last of four lead changes in the final four-plus minutes as the Ragin’ Cajuns (7-12, 4-4 SBC) ended a four-game losing streak.
“We played really good,” stated Jaguar head coach Ronnie Arrow. “But, they have a lot of talent.”
Tilford sank a three with 4:14 left to cap a 7-0 USA spurt and put the Jags up 62-59. Daigle and La’Ryan Gary both connected on jumpers, though, with the second returning the lead to ULL with 1:55 to go. Travis Bureau doubled the edge with 20 seconds remaining when he hit 1-of-2 foul shots.
The Jaguars turned the ball over three times in the final three-plus minutes, while the Cajuns missed four shots from the field during that stretch.
C.J. Garner drew USA within two points, 25-23, with four-and-a-half minutes left in the opening period, but the Jaguars would manage only two more field goals the rest of the half. The Jags would trail by seven less than a minute later after Tyren Johnson sank a trey from the top of the key and Emmanuel Adeife added a pair of free throws. While Tracy Parks cut the Jaguar deficit to 30-26 with a three-pointer at 3:19, the Ragin’ Cajuns scored five of the final seven points of the half capped by a Bureau layup at the buzzer, to take a 37-29 advantage ? their largest of the night ? to the locker room.
The Jaguars answered by coming out after the break and putting together a 10-1 spurt over a two-minute and 38-second stretch to regain the lead 42-40 with 15-and-a-half minutes left. DeAndré Coleman accounted for eight of those points, including a jumper from the free-throw line that put USA up for the first time since 10-and-a-half minutes were left in the opening period.
Actually, Coleman scored 10 of the team’s first 12 points following the intermission, finishing with a career-best 26 points and 14 rebounds to lead all players in both categories for his third straight double-double. He was 7-of-12 from the field and 12-of-15 at the line, adding three assists and a steal.
Corey Bloom sank a trey with just over 11 minutes to go to tie the score 48-48 before the Jags reeled off seven straight points to match their largest advantage of the night. Tilford made a pair of baskets 38 seconds apart, and then Garner completed a three-point play with 9:01 remaining to give USA a 55-48 lead.
Tilford was the only other Jaguar in double digits, posting 16 points while accounting for three of the team’s four three-pointers.
ULL responded with 11 unanswered points, though, and were up 59-55 with five-and-a-half minutes to go. Johnson’s dunk with little more than seven minutes left tied the contest, while he gave the lead back to the Cajuns with two free throws at 6:16. Lamar Robertson capped the spurt with a long jumper.
The Jags overcame their halftime deficit by hitting 54.5 percent from the floor in the second period, outshooting ULL 44.4-34.5 percent for the game. The Ragin’ Cajuns hit three more treys than USA, but they were just 7-of-27 from long distance.
Bureau paced ULL with 18 points, while Johnson recorded 11 and seven boards. Adeife collected a team-best eight rebounds.
The Jags jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead in the first three-plus minutes with Coleman and Brandon Davis connecting on layups around a Tilford three-pointer. Although Colby Batiste ended the Ragin’ Cajun drought after a time-out with a tip in of a missed shot, ULL would make just one of its first 11 attempts from the floor.
Despite that, the Cajuns would respond by scoring 12 of the next 14 points with Chris Gradnigo supplying seven. He gave them their first lead of the night, 10-9, with 12:48 remaining when he hit a three in front of the USA bench.
Except for a 19-second span midway through the period when LaShun Watson put the Jaguars back in front 13-12, the Ragin’ Cajuns would lead the rest of the half. Although USA would outrebound ULL in the opening 20 minutes, they committed eight turnovers while forcing just three on the defensive end and trailed 13-2 in free-throw attempts in falling behind by nine points.
Gradnigo and Bureau each reached double digits in the scoring column in the first half with 12 and 10 points, respectively, while Coleman nearly had a double-double prior to the intermission with eight points and eight boards.
Gradnigo was held to just one free throw over the final 20 minutes.
Watson contributed six rebounds and three assists in the contest, with Garner collecting six points and five boards in a career-high 37 minutes.
The Jags wrap up a two-game stretch on the road when they visit Denver Thursday. Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m., and the game will be televised live regionally on FSN Rocky Mountain.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
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