Copyright Baton Rouge Advocate
UL coach Quannas White started off the postgame press conference after his Ragin’ Cajuns lost 66-62 to Tulane on Tuesday at the Cajundome with the biggest issue for his team. “First of all, we’ve got to be better at the free throw line,” White said. “That’s obvious. Then we’ve got to stop putting guys on the free throw line.” Certainly, basketball has many layers to it, but so far this season, the free throw line has been UL’s biggest obstacle the Cajuns haven’t been able to conquer. On Tuesday, UL missed 10 of its 21 tries at the line and lost by four. For the third straight game, the opponent won the free throw battle. Tulane, which had made 42 of its 43 attempts in the first two games, actually missed six of its 27 attempts, but still outscored the Cajuns by 10 at the line. “We’re normally a good free throw shooting team,” De’Vion Lavergne said. “In our other games, we shot it pretty well. The ball just didn’t go in the hoop tonight. We’ve just got to get in the lab and shoot more.” The Cajuns only made one of their first six tries at the line and therefore trailed Tulane 17-11 over the first 10 minutes of the game. But UL picked up some steam before intermission. Dorian Finister hit a 3 at 5:58, Lavergne contributed a personal five-point run and true freshman Michael Collins hit a 3 with 46 seconds left to cut Tulane’s lead to 29-28. Moments later, walk-on guard Milan Mejia got a reverse layup to fall to give UL a 30-29 lead at halftime. “It was good,” Mejia said of his 19 minutes of playing time. “It was good to be home for sure and being in this environment and with my teammates/ I thought I tried the best I could, but, I mean, it wasn't enough. “I think we just needed to play harder as a group.” Mejia finished the game with 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting to impress his head coach. “I thought he came in and gave some really good minutes,” White said of Mejia. “ I was super proud of him off the bench.” The bad part of Mejia’s 19 minutes is his role increased because UL’s starting point guard Jamyron Keller suffered a sprained foot in practice Monday and didn’t dress for the game. White said he’s hoping to get Keller back perhaps as soon as next week’s California trip, or perhaps as much as two weeks. “Milan's not a point guard, but he's just a guy who is tough as nails,” White added. “I was really impressed with Milan.” Without its point guard, UL impressively only had one turnover in the first half with Lavergne and Jaxon Olvera doing much of the ball handling. Olvera finished the game with 19 points and four rebounds, while Lavergne added 11 points, seven rebounds and three assists. “I thought we took care of the ball in the first half,” White said. “We had one turnover. I think we ended the game with nine, so we did a good job there. But we did not do a good job defensively. We let go of the rope.” The second half began with 3-pointers from Joshua Lewis and Olvera and then one from Dariyus Woodson for a 41-35 lead with 14:48 left. That’s when the entire game turned. Tulane responded with a 7-0 run that turned into a 12-0 run and then a 22-10 edge for a 57-52 lead with 3:44 left. The bulk of UL’s eight turnovers came in that stretch and the Cajuns only made two baskets in that 10-minute stretch. “Our guys held on to the ball too long instead of moving it,” White said. “Our game plan was to move it. When you're holding the ball, and guys are in the zone, it forces you when you're not moving. The other four guys are not moving and one guy is holding it, it’s hard to get a shot.” That may be where Keller’s absence was felt most by the Cajuns. In each of the first two games, it was in the second half when Keller did the bulk of his scoring, but UL only made five baskets over the final 14:48 of the game. “We’re in the gym day and night, so whether they go in or not, just keep shooting,” Lavergne said of UL shooting 36.2% for the game. “ That's what the coaches tell us, just trust your work, because we put the reps in. Eventually, they're going to fall. It might not be tonight, might be next game. It might be game after that, but just trust in our work.” The Cajuns did outrebound Tulane 33-32 and got 12 offensive boards – seven more than the Green Wave. UL held edges in fast break points 11-2 and in points off turnovers 16-11, but the Cajuns were killed in points in the paint 36-14. All of that, though, would have worked out if not for only making 52.4% of their free throws. Even when we weren't moving the ball, the guys with the balls standing around instead of moving,” White said. “And again, we'll get that corrected.”
