LAFAYETTE – Louisiana Men’s Basketball closed the gap with a 25-11 scoring run down the stretch, but was unable to overtake No. 14 Houston on Tuesday night, falling 71-56 at the Fertitta Center.
Sophomore Jordan Brown paced Louisiana with a double-double performance of 13 points and 14 rebounds. The Roseville, Calif., native has recorded a double-double in two of the last three games and now has seven in his career.
Second-year guard Kentrell Garnett poured in nine second-half points and totaled 12 on the night. Garnett, who began the contest ranked second in the Sun Belt Conference with 2.4 3-point makes a game, buried 3-5 shots from beyond the arc.
Junior guard Trajan Wesley and redshirt-freshman forward Kobe Julien contributed six points apiece with Julien also adding three assists and a pair of rebounds.
Louisiana’s reserves continued to excel in non-conference play as they outscored Houston’s bench 24-0.
The Ragin’ Cajuns held pace with the nationally-ranked Cougars early on the night. Through the opening seven minutes, Louisiana trailed by just three. Senior Dou Gueye and Julien knocked down a pair of early triples to spark the offense.
The Ragin’ Cajuns were plagued by turnovers late in the first half as the Houston lead ballooned to 18 at the break.
Louisiana ramped up their offensive attack to begin the second half. A pair of Garnett 3-pointers served as the catalyst for the offensive explosion that cut the lead down to just seven with just over five minutes remaining. In total, the Ragin’ Cajuns made four shots from outside during the rally with Brown and Julien also contributing triples.
Louisiana was unable to get its shots to fall in the game’s final segment as Houston converted at the charity stripe to increase the lead to the end margin.
The Ragin’ Cajuns will be back in action on Monday when they return home to face Loyola (La.) at 7 p.m. in the Cajundome. The game 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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