LAFAYETTE, La. (2/24/03) Without the services of senior guard Chris Davis for the second straight outing, the North Texas men’s basketball team (7-19, 2-12) suffered a 94-60 setback against UL Lafayette (20-7, 12-2) in a Sun Belt Conference West Division game Saturday at the Cajundome.
Davis, out with the flu, is leading the Mean Green in scoring, rebounding and assists this season. NT’s Michael DeGrate was the only Mean Green player to reach double figures in the game, finishing with 12 points.
The Ragin’ Cajuns pushed the ball up the court on offense and used a high-pressure defense to start the game as it raced out to a double-figure lead within the games first four minutes. UL Lafayette outscored the Mean Green 37-11 over the game’s first 10:18, getting 13 points from Brad Boyd during that span. NT cut the lead back to 18 points, 40-22, with five minutes remaining in the opening period, but the Ragin’ Cajuns went on a 9-2 run to close the half with a 49-24 lead.
The Ragin’ Cajuns extended their lead to 32 points, 62-30, at the 14:46 mark of the second half. While the Mean Green got within 52-75 of UL Lafayette with 7:03 left in the game, it couldn’t get any closer.
North Texas shot just 38 percent from the field, while UL Lafayette connected on 53 percent of its shots and outrebounded the Mean Green 45-28. UL Lafayette had four players score in double figures, including Laurie Bridges game-high 19.
North Texas will play its final regular-season game of the year this Saturday at New Mexico State. The game is set to get under way at 8 p.m. (CST) and can be heard live on the Mean Green Radio Network.
