Louisiana Hands Trojans First Sun Belt Loss

LITTLE ROCK – The Trojan men's basketball team suffered its first loss of the Sun Belt Conference season on Monday night, falling 69-52 to Louisiana at the Jack Stephens Center.
 
The Trojans (10-5, 1-1 Sun Belt) were led on offense by Kemy Osse's 15 points. Marcus Johnson Jr. scored 9, and Lis Shoshi topped the Trojans with nine rebounds. Four players scored in double figures for the Ragin' Cajuns (11-5, 1-1) including a team-high 15 from Justin Miller.
 
The teams were close early on, with the game tied at 7-7 after three minutes. But from there, the Cajuns took over, scoring 16 of the next 20 points to go up 23-11 just after the midway point of the first half.
 
By halftime, Louisiana had extended its lead to 44-22 thanks to its 59 percent effort from the field (19 of 32).
 
Little Rock outscored Louisiana 30-25 in the second half including a 9-0 run late in the game, but it was not enough to overcome the Cajuns' halftime lead. Louisiana finished the game shooting 57 percent from the field while Little Rock made just 32 percent of its shots.
 
The Trojans are now off until Saturday when they will travel to Appalachian State for their first road contest in Sun Belt play. Tipoff in Boone, N.C., is set for 2:30 p.m. central.
 
2017 Sun Belt Championships
 
The 2017 Sun Belt Conference Men's and Women's Basketball Championships are scheduled for a week of March Madness in the Big Easy.  New Orleans will once again be home to the two championships that will take place at Lakefront Arena from March 7-12 and ticket books can now be purchased from your school's ticket office.  For more information, visit the Sun Belt Conference's championship central websites - Men's Championship – Women's Championship – and be sure to follow the #FunBelt on social media – @SunBelt.