LAFAYETTE, La. - Louisiana-Lafayette went on a 20-0 run in the second half and took advantage of 22 New Orleans turnovers in a 70-53 victory on Thursday at the Cajundome.
Chris Gradnigo scored 23 points, and Tyren Johnson added 21 as the Ragin' Cajuns (7-11, 4-3 Sun Belt Conference) improved to 4-0 at home in SBC play.
The duo scored all 20 points during the decisive run, which saw ULL hold UNO (7-12, 2-6) scoreless for more than six minutes.
Freshman point guard Carl Blair paced the Privateers with 12 points. It was the fourth straight game in double figures for the rookie.
UNO had three scorers in double figures overall, as Ejike Hart and Charles Carmouche had 10 points each.
The Privateers played without leading scorer Billy Humphrey for the third straight game due to a knee injury.
ULL capitalized on a season-high for turnovers for UNO, which led to 24 points.
The loss was UNO's 13th straight at ULL and 15th consecutive defeat at the Cajundome.
"They're the most talented team in our league," said UNO head coach Joe Pasternack. "You don't know which (ULL) team is going to show up. They'll have an opportunity to win our league with as much talent and athleticism as they have."
The Cajuns led by as many as 14 points with 6:48 to play before the Privateers got the deficit down to five with 3:55 remaining after a pair of Blair free throws.
But ULL outscored the Privateers 12-0 the rest of the way to close it out.
UNO led 30-27 at halftime after shooting 52 percent from the field and holding the Cajuns to a 40 percent clip.
"I thought we did a terrific job in the first half," Pasternack said. "We kept the game at our tempo, but the turnovers were our downfall.
"When we kept it a half-court game, we were in good shape. It got out of hand when we turned the ball over, and they got a lot of easy transition baskets."
The Privateers will host Louisiana-Monroe in a 7 p.m. contest on Saturday at Lakefront Arena. The game will be part of a doubleheader with the women's team, which will play ULM at 4:30 p.m.
