LAFAYETTE – Junior Jordan Brown scored 16 points to lead three players in double figures and the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns used a 9-0 run to close out the first half to build a double-digit lead and earn a 78-70 win over Georgia State in a Sun Belt Conference game on Saturday at the Cajundome.
Greg Williams, Jr., and Jalen Dalcourt scored 11 points each as Louisiana (12-4, 2-2 Sun Belt) swept its two-game homestand while snapping a four-game losing streak to GSU (8-8, 1-3 Sun Belt), including an 80-71 contest in the SBC Championship last March.
Dalcourt, who came off the bench to score all 11 points in the first half, sank his first of three 3-pointers with 12:35 left in the first half and giving Louisiana a 13-12 lead, it would not relinquish.
The former Lafayette High product, who finished 4-for-6 from the floor and 3-for-4 from behind the 3-point line, added his second 3-pointer of the half for a 20-14 lead with 9:32 remaining before hitting his final long-range shot with 1:00 left in the half to push Louisiana’s lead to 37-26.
Themus Fulks would add a pair of free throws and Brown would take a feed and score on a dunk to extend Louisiana’s lead to 41-26 at intermission.
Georgia State would chip away at the lead in the second half as Ja’Heim Hudson’s 3-pointer got the Panthers to within 46-40 with 15:34 remaining. The Panthers would get as close as 50-45 when Jamaine Mann sank a pair of free throws with 13:42 left, but Louisiana would answer with a 7-2 run as buckets by Williams and Terence Lewis II, plus free throws by Isaiah Richards, Kobe Julien and Brown would push the lead back to double digits.
Brown, who was 4-for-12 from the floor and 8-for-10 from the free throw line, grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. The 6-foot-11 junior tied a career-high with four assists before fouling out with 1:04 remaining.
Fulks finished with nine points and five rebounds for the Ragin’ Cajuns with Lewis and Joe Charles each adding eight. All nine players who saw action for Louisiana found the scoring column as the Ragin’ Cajuns bench outscored GSU, 28-12.
Louisiana finished 25-for-54 (46 percent) from the floor and was 22-for-30 (73 percent) from the free throw line. The Ragin’ Cajuns held a 36-26 advantage on the glass, including 13 offensive rebounds which led to 17 second-chance points.
Dwon Odom scored a game-high 18 points to lead four players in double figures. Hudson added 14 points for the Panthers with Mann adding 13 and Brenden Tucker 12. The Panthers finished 23-for-51 (45 percent) from the floor, 6-for-20 (30 percent) from behind the 3-point line and 18-for-26 (69 percent from the charity stripe.
Louisiana will head out on the road for its next four game beginning on Thursday when it travels north to face ULM in a 6:30 p.m. contest. The Ragin’ Cajuns will close out next weekend at South Alabama (Jan. 14) in a 3 p.m. contest before closing out the road swing with games at Arkansas State (Jan. 19) and Texas State (Jan. 21).
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