LAFAYETTE – Redshirt-freshman forward Kobe Julien erupted for 19 points in the second half and overtime, but the late-game heroics were not enough for Louisiana Men’s Basketball to eclipse UT Arlington on Saturday night, falling 80-77 at the Cajundome.
Julien was 6-14 from the floor and grabbed five rebounds to fill out his stat column. The redshirt freshman scored Louisiana’s last seven points to force the overtime period.
After the opening 20 minutes, sophomore Jordan Brown was just one rebound shy of a double-double. Brown posted 12 points and nine rebounds in the first half and finished the night with 21 points and 12 boards.
Junior forward Theo Akwuba tallied 14 points on an efficient 4-6 shots and grabbed nine rebounds.
Junior Jalen Dalcourt buried three shots from beyond the arc and totaled 11 points in 28 minutes off the bench.
The Ragin’ Cajuns were locked in offensively following the opening tip. Brown began the game with a dunk and a pair of 3-pointers from freshman Kentrell Garnett and Dalcourt gave Louisiana a 12-6 lead seven minutes into the contest.
The Mavericks got within two with just under nine minutes remaining in the half, but Brown converted a hook shot and Dalcourt notched his second triple to expand the lead back to seven.
The lead hovered around seven until the five-minute mark when UT Arlington knocked down back-to-back triples to slice the advantage to one.
The Mavericks tied the contest at 29 as the clock crossed the two-minute mark, but freshman guard Ty Harper made a mid-range jump shot and Akwuba capitalized on a pair of free throws to give Louisiana a 33-29 lead at the break.
UT Arlington began the second half on an 11-4 run and took a three-point lead with 16:37 remaining. The Ragin’ Cajuns five-point advantage with 18:21 left marked the final time the game would be separated by more than one possession.
Trailing by three as the game neared the final 10 minutes, Greg Williams Jr. connected from beyond the arc and Brown threw down an authoritative dunk to give Louisiana a 56-54 lead.
Down 66-63 with just under three minutes remaining, Julien took charge on the offensive end. The Baton Rouge, La. native finished a contested layup and following a Maverick’s bucket, knocked down a game-tying 3-pointer from the left corner as the shot clock expired.
Julien gave the Ragin’ Cajuns a two-point lead with 47 seconds remaining, but UT Arlington was able to answer and force the extra period.
Unrelenting, Julien scored the first three points of overtime and finished with five in the final five minutes, but the Mavericks were able to score in the paint and convert at the free-throw line to close out the night. A potential game-tying 3-point attempt by junior guard Brayan Au did not fall at the buzzer.
Louisiana will be back in action at 6:30 p.m. Thursday when it travels to Monroe, La. to take on ULM. The contest will be available to be live-streamed on ESPN+.
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