Louisiana Loses Third Straight, Fall to Jackson State 75-70
The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns attempted a comeback but lost 75-70 to the Jackson State Tigers in the Cajundome.
Louisiana is now 3-3 this season. It's their third straight loss after starting the season 3-0. The Tigers picked up their first win of the season and improved to 1-5 in 2021.
Jackson State shot well from the field to start, hitting eight of their first 13 shots and holding a 19-12 lead over Louisiana midway through the first half.
Two straight three-point plays by forwards Kobe Julien and Jordan Brown got the Cajuns within one point. Julien's layup gave the Cajuns a 20-19 lead with an 8-0 run.
Jackson State responded with their own 8-0 run before guard Antwann Jones hit a three-pointer to cut the lead to 27-23.
The Tigers stretched the lead to 11 points at 36-25. However, guard Kentrell Garnett made Louisiana's second three of the first half, and forward Theo Akwuba knocked down three of four free throws with less than two minutes remaining before the break.
Right before the clock ran out for halftime, Garnett fouled a three-point shooter. With no time on the clock, the Tigers tacked on three free throws and the lead was back to 11 points at 44-33 for Jackson State at the half.
The Tigers were an efficient 15-27 from the field in the first half. They also shot 17 free throws and made 13 of them. Louisiana shot 13-32 from the field in the first half and only attempted seven free throws, making five of them. The Cajuns were sloppy with the ball again, turning the ball over 11 times in the first half. Jackson State out-scored Louisiana 15-3 on points off of turnovers, which was one of the biggest stats of the entire first half.
Jackson State continued shooting well in the second half, and they took a 52-40 lead. Garnett answered with a three-pointer.
Through nine minutes of game time in the second half, the Tigers were shooting 67 percent from the field. Their lead was 63-49 at the second media timeout, and the Cajuns were running out of time to make a run.
Both teams went on a scoreless streak for a few minutes. An 8-0 run by Louisiana got it to 65-57 with seven minutes left, but a three silenced the home fans at the Cajundome.
Jackson State had an answer for every run by the Cajuns late in the game. Their lead was 72-62 with four minutes remaining. However, Louisiana made one last push, using excellent defense and free throws to score six straight points. With one minute left, two missed free throws that would have made it a one possession game kept it at 72-68.
A layup made it 72-70, but the Tigers hit two clutch free throws to make it a two-possession game with 24 seconds remaining. After two missed shots, Jackson State put the game away and won 75-70.
Up next, Louisiana hosts New Orleans on Friday, Dec. 3 at 7:00 p.m.