Red Wolves Lose Road Game To ULL

Red Wolves Lose 85-67

LAFAYETTE, La. – Kendrick Washington and Melvin Johnson III scored 19 points apiece, but it wasn’t enough as Arkansas State University suffered an 85-67 loss to UL Lafayette Saturday evening in Sun Belt Conference men’s basketball play at the Cajundome in Lafayette, La.

A-State, which falls to 14-9 overall and 7-5 in the conference, had its three-game win streak snapped despite placing three players in the double-figure scoring column.  Joining Washington and Johnson III, a pair of seniors, in double digits was senior guard Ed Townsel, who pumped in 13 points.

UL Lafayette was led by guard Elfrid Payton’s game-high 22 points as the Ragin’ Cajuns extend their winning streak to five while improving to 17-9 overall and 8-5 in the Sun Belt Conference.  ULL center Shawn Long recorded a double-double on the night with 16 points and 11 rebounds.

“They (ULL) beat us physically every which way possible,” said A-State head coach John Brady.  “They were ready for us and we didn’t match their physicality.  Tonight Lafayette was better than us and deserved to beat us on how they played, which was really well.”

The game started out well for A-State as the Red Wolves overcame a one-point deficit with a 12-point run to claim a 15-4 lead following a three-pointer by Kendrick Washington at the 12:04 mark.  The Ragin’ Cajuns would bounce back and gradually chipped away at A-State’s lead to tie things up at 22-all with just under five minutes to go before the half.  The Red Wolves regained the advantage and went ahead by six points at 30-24 with 2:46 left in the stanza only to have ULL erase the deficit again as both teams went into the intermission knotted at 32-apiece.  Kendrick Washington’s 12 points at the break paced the Red Wolves, who also received eight points from Melvin Johnson III in the first 20 minutes.

The two teams exchanged leads for the first two-plus minutes before ULL snapped a 40-all tie by outscoring A-State 15-1 to take a 55-41 lead just under the 14-minute mark.  The Red Wolves would get no closer than seven points at 61-44 on an Ed Townsel layup with 9:14 to be played.  ULL proceeded to get its lead back to double figures the final three-plus minutes to preserve the victory.

UL Lafayette dominated A-State on the boards, outrebounding the Red Wolves 40-23 and outscored the visitors in bench points, 23-5.  Junior guard Rakeem Dickerson’s four caroms led the way for A-State.

The Red Wolves finished the contest shooting 21-of-51 from the floor for 41.2 percent, including 31.6 percent (6-19) from three-point territory.  A-State made 19-of-28 (67.9%) from the free throw stripe.  UL Lafayette would hit 52.5 percent (31-59) of its field goals and connected on 7-of-16 (43.8%) beyond the arc.  At the charity stripe, the Ragin’ Cajuns were 16-for-24 for 66.7 percent efficiency.

Arkansas State returns home to begin a three-game homestand, starting Thursday, Feb. 20, against the UT Arlington Mavericks in Sun Belt Conference action.  Game time is set for 7:05 p.m. (CT) at the Convocation Center in Jonesboro, Ark.  Texas State will make its first appearance to A-State Saturday, Feb. 22, with tipoff at 7:05 p.m. (CT)