Box Score NEW ORLEANS ? New Orleans used a 26-for-37 night from the free-throw line to take a 61-58 win over visiting Louisiana-Lafayette on Thursday at Lakefront Arena.
Kyndall Dykes had a game-high 20 points ? keyed by a 10-for-13 night from the charity stripe ? as UNO (7-8, 3-2 Sun Belt Conference) beat ULL (5-9, 2-2) for just the second time in the last 10 meetings.
T.J. Worley had 14 points and Jaroslav Tyrna had 12 to help UNO record a 3-0 start at home in league play for the first time since 1999-2000.
Chris Gradnigo led the Ragin' Cajuns with 14 points despite playing just 23 minutes. The sophomore, whose father ? Lawrence ? played one season at UNO (1984-85), left the game in the first half after hitting his head on the court.
But the Lake Charles product returned in the second half and scored four points. Randell Daigle and Travis Bureau each had 12 points, while Ryan McCoy had 11.
UL Lafayette struggled from the field late and could not overcome a huge free-throw shooting discrepancy. The Cajuns attempted just seven free throws on the night ? making four.
Both teams had a rough night shooting. UNO shot 38 percent from the field and was just 1-for-10 from 3-point range. ULL shot 37 percent, including 25 percent in the first half.
“It was all about defense tonight,” said UNO head coach Joe Pasternack. “We knew we would have to play 40 minutes of defense to win, and I think we did it.”
Despite the cold-shooting first half, the Cajuns took a 21-20 lead at halftime and finally got their shooting going.
A Daigle jumper gave ULL a 51-43 lead with 6:35 to play. But the Privateers went on a 15-2 run during the next 6:05, as ULL did not tally another field goal until the final minute.
Dykes scored nine points during the run and was 5-for-5 from the free-throw line.
The last minute was definitely interesting.
The Cajuns cut the lead to 58-56 on a Bureau 3-pointer with 28.8 seconds left. After UNO's Darrian McKinstry made a free throw, McCoy drove the lane, scored and was fouled by Tyrna to make it 59-58 with 10.5 seconds remaining.
But McCoy missed the potential game-tying free-throw, and UNO freshman Charles Carmouche hit two key free throws on the ensuing possession to make it 61-58.
The Cajuns could only manage a desperation 3-point attempt from Daigle from nearly 35 feet away as time ran out.
UNO will return to action on Saturday, hosting UALR in a 7 p.m. SBC matchup. The game will be televised live on Cox Sports Television.
For ticket information, please call 504-280-GAME.
