LAFAYETTE, La. — Randell Daigle hit a 35-foot three-pointer as time expired to give Louisiana-Lafayette a 67-65 victory over South Alabama, seconds after Domonic Tilford had put the Jaguars ahead.
Tilford’s basket with 2.4 seconds remaining gave South Alabama a 65-64 lead, but Daigle’s long-range heave at the horn handed the Jaguars a Sun Belt Conference road loss. South Alabama fell to 11-9 overall and 4-5 in the Sun Belt, while Louisiana-Lafayette improved to 7-11 and 4-4.
Fast Start, Then a Deficit
South Alabama scored the game’s first seven points in just over three minutes. The Ragin’ Cajuns ended their scoring drought with a tip-in but made only one of their first 11 field-goal attempts.
Louisiana-Lafayette then went on a 12-2 run to take its first lead. The Jaguars led only once more in the first half, at 13-12. South Alabama pulled within 25-23 with about 4 1/2 minutes left before halftime but made just two more field goals the rest of the half.
The Jaguars committed eight first-half turnovers while forcing three, and attempted only two free throws to Louisiana-Lafayette’s 13. The Ragin’ Cajuns led 37-28 at the break.
Second-Half Comeback
South Alabama gradually cut into the lead after halftime. Tilford capped a 7-0 run with 4:14 left to put the Jaguars in front 62-59. Louisiana-Lafayette hit two jump shots to regain the lead with just under two minutes remaining.
In the final three-plus minutes, South Alabama committed three turnovers and Louisiana-Lafayette missed four field-goal attempts before the closing sequence.
Coleman Leads All Scorers
DeAndre Coleman led all scorers with 26 points, shooting 7 of 12 from the field and 12 of 15 from the free-throw line. He missed his only three-point attempt. Coleman also grabbed 14 rebounds, 11 of them on the defensive end. Tilford added 16 points and was the only other Jaguar in double figures.
Travis Bureau led Louisiana-Lafayette with 18 points on 5-of-11 shooting, including 2 of 8 from three-point range, and went 6 of 9 from the line. Chris Gradnigo scored 13 points and Tyren Johnson added 11.
By the Numbers
South Alabama shot better in every category but took fewer shots. The Jaguars also outscored the Ragin’ Cajuns in the paint, while Louisiana-Lafayette’s bench outscored South Alabama’s reserves by a wide margin.
- Field goals: South Alabama 44 percent (54 attempts), Louisiana-Lafayette 35 percent (58 attempts)
- 3-pointers: South Alabama 44 percent (9 attempts), Louisiana-Lafayette 26 percent (27 attempts)
- Free throws: South Alabama 77 percent (17 attempts), Louisiana-Lafayette 74 percent (27 attempts)
- Points in the paint: South Alabama 28, Louisiana-Lafayette 14
- Points off turnovers: South Alabama 12, Louisiana-Lafayette 11
- Bench points: Louisiana-Lafayette 21, South Alabama 5
Next: Denver
South Alabama finishes its two-game road trip Thursday at Denver. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m., and the game will be televised regionally on FSN Rocky Mountain.
