Louisiana's Ragin' Cajun (6-3) basketball team gave #6 ranked Louisville (8-1) all they wanted...for a half. Louisiana entered intermission in Louisville trailing the defending national champs 54-47. However, the Cardinals pulled away in the second half, outscoring the Cajuns 59-27 in the second half, earning a 113-74 victory.

Even in defeat, Ragin' Cajun forward Shawn Long stood out, scoring a game-high 25 points, playing well on the offensive end of the floor. Point guard Elfrid Payton posted a double-double of 12 points and 10 assists.

While the offense was solid in the first half, it fell off in the second, as did the Cajun defense.

"We felt like we had a good game plan coming in and could make a good game of it. We shot the ball very well in the first half, but things didn't go our way in the second," head coach Bob Marlin explained. "Louisville played outstanding basketball today and did a good job of attacking the basket. We played very poorly on defense in the second half and didn't do a good job of battling on the glass."

Louisville outrebounded Louisiana 41-29.

The loss snaps a 4 game winning streak for the Cajuns. They'll look to begin a new one next Saturday at the Cajundome when they host the Houston Cougars (6-4). Tip-off is set for 7:05.

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