BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - Top-seeded Louisiana-Lafayette made sure there would be no repeat of the 2003 Sun Belt Tournament, as the Ragin’ Cajuns eased past No. 8 South Alabama 84-58 Saturday evening in the first men’s quarterfinal of the 2004 Aropostale Sun Belt Championships.
With the win, UL Lafayette (18-8) advances to Monday’s semifinals, when they will face the winner of Sunday’s Western Kentucky-Middle Tennessee matchup.
Dwayne Mitchell paced the Cajuns with 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists. He was one of five Cajuns to put up double-figure scoring. Brian Hamilton added 14 points and six boards.
Richard Law led the Jaguars (12-16) with 13 points, and Henry Williams had a double-double (12 points, 11 rebounds). USA won its last three games to make the conference tournament.
UL Lafayette never trailed in the contest and built a 20-point lead in the first half. The margin reached as many as 32 in the second half.
The victory avenges a frustrating ‘03 tourney. Last year, the Cajuns were the No. 1 West Division seed and lost their quarterfinal contest to Denver.
