LAFAYETTE – Terence Lewis II notched his fourth double-double of the season, scoring a game-high 19 points while grabbing 10 rebounds, and the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns had a solid effort on both ends of the floor in claiming a 75-58 win over Samford in a non-conference game on Saturday at the Cajundome.
Greg Williams, Jr., Kentrell Garnett, and Jordan Brown combined for 36 points as Louisiana (8-1) placed four players in double figures while holding Samford (6-5) to a season-low in scoring and 3-point attempts (20).
Lewis, who went 7-for-10 from the floor overall, scored 13 points in the second half as the Ragin’ Cajuns finished 27-for-54 from the floor and 11-for-22 from behind the 3-point line. Louisiana never trailed after Williams’ 3-pointer – the first of four in the game – gave the Ragin’ Cajuns an 11-10 lead with 15:12 remaining in the first half.
Williams would cap a 15-2 run for Louisiana with a 3-pointer with 9:00 left in the half to give the Ragin’ Cajuns a 23-12 lead before the Bulldogs would close to within 37-32 at halftime.
Samford, which entered the game averaging 85.3 points while leading all Division I schools with 20.6 made free throws per game, got as close as 37-34 on Jaden Campbell’s bucket with 19:36 remaining. The Bulldogs would keep the deficit in single-digits until midway in the final half when Garnett and Jalen Dalcourt drained 3-pointers to give Louisiana a 61-49 lead with 8:15 left.
Williams scored 14 points, all in the first half for Louisiana, while Garnett added 12 – all from behind the 3-point line – while Brown scored 10 points and blocked three shots.
Louisiana held Samford to 22-for-55 (40.0 percent) from the floor while limiting the Bulldogs to 10-for-29 (34.5 percent) from the floor and 2-for-10 from long range in the second half. The Bulldogs, who dropped their fifth straight game including overtime losses at DePaul and UCF, finished 6-for-8 from the free throw line after entering the game 206-for-277 through the first 10 games.
The Ragin’ Cajuns will close out their two-game homestand on Monday when it entertains Louisiana Christian University (formerly Louisiana College) at 7 p.m. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
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