Time for redemption
Cajuns try to return favor against Bradley
Dan McDonald / Staff Writer
Posted on December 11, 2001
LAFAYETTE - Revenge is a strong term.
Maybe Louisiana's Ragin' Cajun men's basketball team isn't a vengeful group. But if nothing else, the Cajuns will have redemption on their minds tonight at the Cajundome when Bradley's Braves provide the opposition for the middle game of a three-game homestand.
"I don't know how much we've improved as a basketball team," said Cajun head coach Jessie Evans. "But I do know that we're better than the way we played in the last 13 minutes up there."
The Cajuns and the Braves met back on Nov. 19 in Peoria, Ill, and UL had added to a three-point halftime lead on the way to a 37-30 advantage at the 13:45 mark. At that point, the roof of the Carver Arena might as well have fallen in on the visitors.
Bradley scored 24 unanswered points, outscored the Cajuns 33-4 over that final 13:45 and rolled to a 63-41 laugher that left UL scratching its collective heads.
"I'm not sure what happened," said Cajun point guard Kenneth Lawrence, "but that makes this an even bigger game for us. We've got some guys that know people on their team, and they've been doing a lot of talking about how this game's going to be the same story."
It couldn't be much worse for the Cajuns. UL was 5-for-30 from the field in the second half and 14-for-51 in the game, suffered 21 turnovers, was outrebounded by nine and had only six assists and two steals.
"Anytime you shoot the ball that way, you're going to be in trouble," said Evans. "That ought to be all the motivation they need. We're not as bad a team as we looked up there, and we ought to be anxious to go out and prove that."
The problem for Bradley heading into tonight's 7:05 p.m. clash is that, since that time, the Braves haven't been able to beat much of anybody. Bradley (2-4) limps into the 'Dome tonight on a four-game losing streak including a 67-61 home loss to Northern Iowa Saturday night in its Missouri Valley Conference opener.
That loss snapped a streak of 19 straight home wins against league competition and gave the Braves their first three-game loss streak at home in eight years.
The 3-3 Cajuns, meanwhile, have won two of their last three outings sandwiched around an 83-65 loss to LSU in Baton Rouge one week ago. UL led by as many as 21 points in the final eight minutes on Sunday on the way to an 84-72 victory over Birmingham Southern on Sunday in the 'Dome in its last outing.
"The way we had been looking, I'm just happy we got a win," said Lawrence, who had 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting and added seven assists and four steals against BSC for his best floor game of the year. "That game hopefully gets us going in a positive direction."
The Cajuns had a positive outing last time before they faced Bradley, though, and the Braves were unimpressed. Leading scorer Phillip Gilbert (17.8) had 20 points and freshman Danny Granger had 10 points and 17 rebounds, the high mark for any Brave this season.
Anthony Johnson, the Cajuns' leading scorer with a 15.7 average, had only three points on 1-of-7 shooting in the earlier meeting. The junior from Chicago has scored in double figures in every other game this season including 19 points and 11 boards in Sunday's victory.
UL had four players in twin digits against BSC even though injury-slowed freshman Michael Southall missed double figures for the first time this season with three points and five rebounds in only 19 minutes. He played only two minutes after halftime after aggravating a calf injury suffered in the loss to LSU.
Lawrence also rolled an ankle in the final five minutes on Sunday in what became a physical contest, but Evans expected both to be full speed for tonight.
"We need both of them," he said. "Bradley just tattooed us up there. They're a traditionally good program, and our guys know what can happen if we don't play up to the challenge."
CAJUN NOTES: UL will also be without the services of senior guard Blane Harmon again tonight, and may be without him the rest of the season. Harmon, who ranks in the Cajuns' top 30 in career scoring, has not played this year with a broken bone in his foot, and that injury has not healed as expected.
Harmon has the option of applying for an injury hardship year, since he has a redshirt season available, and returning for his final year in 2002-03. No final decision on his status, though, has been reached.
