Postgame radio interview with Mark Byington

STATESBORO – JaKeenan Gant collected 22 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and five blocked shots, including a big one late, to lift Louisiana to an 87-85 Sun Belt men's basketball victory over Georgia Southern Saturday evening in Hanner Fieldhouse.

With the Ragin' Cajuns ahead by three points after a pair of Marcus Stroman free throws with 11.4 to go, Tookie Brown took the inbounds pass and tried to go the distance for a quick layup, but Gant slid over to block the shot, effectively putting the game away.

Eagles of the Game
Brown tallied 21 points four rebounds and four assists and is now two points shy of 2,000 for his career. Quan Jackson collected 21 points, six rebounds and three steals, and Isaiah Crawley posted a second consecutive double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Key moments
Georgia Southern (10-7, 2-2) trailed by 17 points early in the second half but outscored Louisiana 13-2 over a stretch of 3:15 and opened a 72-71 lead on a Brown layup with 5:09 to go. The lead stayed with the Eagles until Stroman and Gant made free throws on consecutive Ragin' Cajun trips, and Louisiana increased the margin to 84-80 on a Stroman layup with 28 seconds left.

Jackson trimmed the lead to one point with a 3-pointer from the wing with 21 seconds to play and stole the ball from Stroman just after the inbounds pass, but the sophomore was whistled for a travel as he tried to go back up for the go-ahead layup. 

The Eagles almost had another steal but the Ragin' Cajuns (11-6, 2-2) maintained possession on a held ball after it got knocked loose and players dove on the floor. The Eagles were forced to foul, and Stroman made both free throws for the three-point lead with 11.4 remaining.

Inside the Numbers
The Eagles trailed by double digits for the seventh straight game and erased the margin for the third consecutive contest. The Ragin' Cajuns made 11 of 12 free throws in the second half and 18 of 22 for the game.

Next up
Georgia Southern travels to the Yellowhammer State for a pair of league contests this week. GS plays Troy Thursday at 8 p.m. ET and takes on South Alabama Saturday at 4 p.m. ET. Both contests will be broadcast on ESPN+.