ATLANTA – The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Men’s Basketball team got off to a 1-for-18 start from the floor and never covered as Georgia State opened with a 25-2 run and claimed a 90-52 Sun Belt Conference victory on Thursday at the GSU Sports Arena.
Corey Allen scored a game-high 24 points to lead three players in double figures as Georgia State (11-6, 4-2 Sun Belt) finished 32-for-59 (54.2 percent) from the floor and 11-for-21 (52.4 percent) from behind the 3-point line.
Nelson Phillips came off the bench to add 17 points with Kane Williams adding 13 as the Panthers built a 47-19 lead and improved to 8-1 all-time against Louisiana (7-10, 2-4 Sun Belt) at home.
Louisiana, which dressed seven scholarship players after missing freshman Mylik Wilson to a knee sprain, trailed 5-0 before a bucket by freshman Calvin Temple with 18:47 remaining before missing its next 14 shots from the floor. By the time walk-on freshman Jaylon Williams drained a 3-pointer from the left wing at the 9:33 mark of the first half, the Ragin’ Cajuns trailed 25-5.
Jalen Johnson scored seven of his team-high 12 points in the final 6:17 of the first half with a pair of layups and a 3-pointer while Cedric Russell scored all nine of his points in the second half and was held to single-digits in back-to-back games for the first time this season.
The Ragin’ Cajuns, who finished 17-for-59 (28.8 percent) from the floor and 6-for-22 (27.3 percent) from behind the 3-point line, got nine points from Temple, a career-high tying eight from Kristian Lafayette and six points from Tirus Smith. Walk-on Mason Aucoin, making his first career start for Louisiana, added four points in a career-high 24 minutes.
Louisiana held a 32-31 advantage on the glass with Johnson pulling down a game-high seven boards. The Ragin’ Cajuns committed a season-high, tying 22 turnovers which resulted in 28 GSU points.
Louisiana will wrap up its three-game roadtrip on Saturday (Jan. 11) when it faces Georgia Southern in a 3 p.m. CT contest in Statesboro, Ga.
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