LAFAYETTE – Despite a career-high 17-point effort from second-year guard Kentrell Garnett, Louisiana Men’s Basketball was unable to overtake Georgia State (7-9, 1-4 SBC) on Thursday night as the Ragin’ Cajuns fell by a narrow 68-64 margin at the Cajundome.
Garnett, who led the Sun Belt Conference in 3-point percentage (50%) entering the contest, connected on 4 of his 5 attempts from beyond the arc.
The former walk-on was awarded a scholarship earlier this month after starting the opening nine games of the season.
As a team, Louisiana (9-9, 4-4 SBC) shot a season-best 55 percent (12-22) from deep.
After missing last Saturday’s game with an upper-body injury, sophomore Jordan Brown scored 12 points behind an efficient 4-6 shooting performance from the floor. Brown also added six boards and a steal.
Junior Theo Akwuba played a team-high 31 minutes on the night and totaled seven points, seven rebounds and two blocks.
Georgia State got out to an early 10-2 lead following the opening tip, but back-to-back triples from Garnett and a layup by senior forward Dou Gueye brought the teams even at 10-10 with just over 13 minutes remaining.
Each side exchanged baskets for the subsequent six minutes as the score was knotted at 23 six minutes later. Garnett, Brown, Akwuba and Greg Williams Jr. provided the Ragin’ Cajuns with buckets in the stretch.
As the teams battled for the halftime lead, sophomore guard Durey Cadwell made a pair of 3-pointers nearly two minutes apart to give Louisiana a four-point lead.
The Panthers responded and hit a late mid-range jump shot to take a 35-34 advantage into the break.
Looking to seize momentum, Georgia State connected from beyond the arc on the first possession of the second half, but the shot was answered with an equalizing triple from Garnett, his fourth and final long-range make of the game.
Both teams searched for the hot hand as the game entered the final 10 minutes. The Panthers found a quick offensive burst and pushed the lead to 55-51 with 9:33 remaining.
With the pressure mounting, Louisiana responded with a 10-0 run that spanned two minutes of game time and was expedited by back-to-back 3-pointers by redshirt-freshman Kobe Julien and Williams, Jr. The run gave the Ragin’ Cajuns a 62-57 lead, their largest of the contest.
Despite the momentum, turnovers and a cold shooting spell from Louisiana allowed the Panthers to edge back in front with just under two minutes remaining.
The Ragin’ Cajuns had opportunities in the final minutes, but were unable to convert at the free-throw line, finishing 6-13 on the night.
Louisiana will be back in action at 7 p.m. Saturday when it welcomes Georgia Southern to the Cajundome for the final matchup of the four-game homestand. The contest will be available to be live-streamed on ESPN+.
For the latest on Louisiana Men's Basketball, stay tuned to RaginCajuns.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (RaginCajunsMBB).
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