App State men’s basketball defeated the University of Louisiana Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns by a score of 72-58 Thursday.
“Louisiana is really good defensively,” head coach Dustin Kerns said in the post game press conference. “They make it really difficult on you to score, and we finally had to get in the rhythm.”
This game featured the two lowest scoring offenses, but the two best scoring defenses in the country. However, Louisiana scored on the first possession of the game.
Even with the early basket, both teams missed the next 8 shots before the Ragin’ Cajuns broke the ice with the first 3-pointer of the game. App State followed with their first field goal of the game, scored by redshirt sophomore center Luke Wilson.
The Mountaineers’ slow start continued, starting 1-12 from the field and 0-8 from deep.
Junior guard Eren Banks connected on a floater to break the stretch, but the Black and Gold found themselves down 9-5.
A deep 3-pointer from guard Jaxon Olvera gave Louisiana a 14-7 lead, before sophomore forward Michael Marcus Jr. scored a layup through a foul. He then followed that up with the first 3-pointer for App State to make it a 16-13 game.
The Black and Gold continued their run, and tied the game with a stepback 3-pointer from senior guard Alonzo Dodd. Soon after, they took their first lead of the game after a free throw from graduate student guard Kasen Jennings.
Guard Dorian Finster was keeping Louisiana in it with the Mountaineers on a run. He finished the first half with 12 points to lead all scorers.
Both teams remained level for the remainder of the opening frame, but a dunk from Wilson in the final minute was enough to give App State a 31-30 lead.
The Mountaineers caught fire to begin the second half, with corner 3 pointers from Marcus and graduate student guard Jalen Tot, who was 0-5 from deep in the first half. Louisiana tied it with a dunk, but Marcus connected on another 3-pointer to give him 13 points, leading all scorers.
Louisiana regained the lead with another basket from Finister. Both teams went cold from there, with App State going over four minutes without a field goal, but the Ragin’ Cajuns couldn’t take any advantage.
Tot drilled a 3-pointer with the shot clock expiring, and was fouled in the process, and made the free throw to convert the 4-point play. He immediately followed that up with another shot from deep to give the Black and Gold a two possession lead. The run continued, and he connected on 3 more from downtown, and it gave him 19 points in the game.
App State led by 18 with Tot scoring 21 points, and won 72-58.
“Once I see one fall, I think I just kept on. My teammates just routed me up, so they continue to believe in me,” Tot said.
The following day, the Mountaineers defeated the University of Louisiana Monroe Warhawks by a score of 59-43.
“I thought defense, we talk about it all the time, defense is not a hot or cold thing,” Kerns said.
Wilson got the scoring started with a dunk on App State’s first possession. Tot continued his efficient shooting with a 3-pointer on his first shot of the game. It was a quick 10-0 run to start the game for the Black and Gold.
After getting out to the hot start, App State went ice cold, and the Warhawks went on a 14-0 run to take the lead. Wilson scored the first field goal for the Mountaineers in 7 minutes.
The Black and Gold started out 1-12 from deep, but Marcus broke the ice by draining one from the top of the key, giving App State a 18-16 lead.
Neither team was finding any offense, but Marcus and Wilson led the way with 9 and 8 points respectively in the first half. The Black and Gold went into the locker room with a 28-20 lead.
Wilson continued his strong offensive play in the second half, catching a lob from Dodd and dunking it.
App State’s defense continued to be effective, holding ULM to just 2 points in the first 4 minutes. The Mountaineers offense started to take over, and the lead expanded to 17 after the slow start.
Wilson and Marcus both got to double doubles in the second half. The Black and Gold led by 21 before ULM started to cut the deficit. The lead was too large to overcome for the Warhawks, and App State cruised to a 59-43 victory despite shooting just 32.9% from the field.
“We didn’t play our best game in the first half, we were still up by 8 because of defense,” Marcus said. “That’s where our coaches stress, you can figure out offense, but defense has to stay consistent,” Marcus said.
App State hits the road Thursday and travels to Hattiesburg, Mississippi to take on the University of Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles. The game will tip off at 8 p.m. and will be streamed live on ESPN+.
