LAFAYETTE, La. – Kasey Shepherd scored 20 points, and UL Lafayette shot 54 percent in the second half to post an 87-78 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball victory over Georgia Southern Saturday night in the Cajundome.

Tookie Brown reached the 20-point plateau for the 10th time this season after tallying 25 points, four rebounds and three assists for Georgia Southern (14-16, 10-10). Mike Hughes collected 23 points, five steals and four rebounds, and Devince Boykins chipped in 10 points

Devonta Walker tallied 16 points and 16 rebounds for UL Lafayette (16-13, 12-8), and Shawn Long posted 11 points and nine boards. Hayward Register scored 14 points.

The Ragin' Cajuns crushed the Eagles on the boards, outrebounding Georgia Southern 49-19 overall and 19-4 on the offensive glass. UL Lafayette scored 19 second-chance points and outscored the Eagles by 11 points at the free-throw line. 

The story
After Brown cut a ULL lead to 72-69 with a conventional 3-point play, the Ragin' Cajuns went on a 9-2 run to open an 81-71 cushion and take control of the game with 2:16 to go. Register hit a 3-pointer and a fast-break layup and stole an inbounds pass under the basket for another easy bucket. The Eagles missed a couple of 3-pointers on consecutive trips down the floor and were forced to foul. UL Lafayette went 6 for 8 from the charity stripe to seal the win.

The Eagles were ahead 14-11 with 12:29 to go in the first half, when they got a couple free points. Long was whistled for an offensive foul while trying to post up and after a brief discussion, was hit with a technical foul. Ragin' Cajun head coach Bob Marlin protested vehemently and was hit with a T as well. Jake Allsmiller made all four free throws to push the margin to 18-11.

Georgia Southern couldn't capitalize with Long on the bench in foul trouble, and a fired-up UL Lafayette squad went on a 12-3 run, capped by a Shepherd 3-pointer, to open a 29-25 lead. Georgia Southern missed seven straight shots during the run before Hughes righted the ship with three straight triples. A pair of free throws by Stove made the score 38-33 with 45 seconds left, but Ike Smith scored on a runner for the Eagles to trim the lead to 38-35 at halftime.

Quotables from head coach Mark Byington
"We did some good things, but what we have to fix – and this is where our youth really shows – we have to get tougher. Sometimes, it's mentally as well as physically. We have to be willing to sacrifice our bodies in taking charges and getting rebounds and things like that. They just pushed us around. You saw a team that was bigger and stronger, and they just kind of threw us under the goal. The second-chance points was the deciding factor. We got first stops a lot, but the second-chance points decided the game."

"The game plan was working very well. We were doing a good job of making them miss the first shot, but we have to be willing when a shot goes up, to hit a guy. The misconception is that basketball is a non-contact sport. It is a contact sport. You have to be willing to hit a guy with your forearm and keep him on your back. And we were missing that tonight. It kind of dispels the fact that we were able to score so well. I thought the pace and execution of our offense was pretty good."

Next Up
Georgia Southern has earned the fifth seed in next week's Sun Belt Championship at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans. The Eagles will take on eighth-seeded South Alabama Thursday at 6 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN3.

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