Sun Belt Tournament Game 4: No. 3 Louisiana Lafayette 91 – No. 6 UT-Arlington 85

Nov 15, 2013; Fayetteville, Ar, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks forward Coty Clarke (4) is blocked out by Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin

The Louisiana Lafayette Ragin Cajuns punched their ticket to the semifinals of the Sun Belt Conference tournament later to night, by defeating the UT-Arlington Mavericks by a score of 91-85.

The Mavs found themselves down by five, 46-41, at the half, but a lackluster second half put them too far behind, and were unable to catch up to ensure the Cajun win. However, while the score was close at times, it was deceptive, as the Cajuns had control of this game throughout, and while UTA would threaten to make a run and attempt to take a lead, ULL would go on a streak of their own, and put the Mavs back in their place.

The Mavs were lead by Jamel Outler, who came off the bench to lead all scorers and post 26 points. Reger Dowell (25) and Brandon Edwards (22) also scored over 20 for UTA.

Two Cajuns scored more than 20 points, leading scorer Xavian Rimmer (23 points) and 20 from Bryant Mbamalu, with Shawn Long sitting just under the 20 point mark at 19, while also grabbing 17 rebounds. Elfrid Payton was relatively absent from this game on the score sheet, as he only notched eight points, but did grab five boards in a balanced effort.

The Cajuns will square off against the Hilltoppers, after the Panthers and Red Wolves square off, and before the Lady Toppers play A-State for the women’s title.