The first half belonged to Ja'Keenan Gant.

The second half belonged to Frank Bartley.

The game belonged to Louisiana.

Gant and Bartley combined for 40 points to lead five Cajuns in double figures as Louisiana defeated UNO 87-65 before 3,445 at the Cajundome Saturday night.

Gant scored 17 of his 21 points in the first half, while Bartley scored all 19 of his points after intermission.  Bryce Washington added 12 points, while Malik Marquetti and Marcus Stroman scored ten apiece.

Travin Thibodeaux took game honors for New Orleans with 23 points on 10-14 shooting, while Diontae Champion added eleven.

Gant also had a career high eleven rebounds for the Cajuns, who took a 33-24 advantage on the boards.

The Cajuns (9-2) won their sixth straight by shooting 54.7% from the field and 32.9% (9-17)from beyond the arc.  The Cajuns also made 20-25 from the free throw line, including 12-13 after intermission.  New Orleans (2-7) shot 48.1% for the game but just 38.5% in the second half.  Louisiana did a great job sharing the basketball as the Cajuns had 21 assists on 29 made field goals, with Stroman leading the way with seven.

New Orleans had a 15-14 lead after a jumper by Bryson Robinson at the 12:10 mark of the first half, but Stroman hit a triple to start an 8-0 run that gave the Cajuns the lead for good.  The lead grew to 34-24 with 3:51 to play before Louisiana settled for a 42-35 lead at the half.

The Privateers scored the first basket of the second half on a dunk by Thibodeaux, but the Cajuns went on a 7-0 run to stretch the lead to 12 points at the 18"08 mark and UNO got no closer than ten the rest of the way.  Bartley scored ten points in the first 7:30 of the second half as the Cajuns continued to stretch the lead.

The Cajuns host Southeastern Louisiana Tuesday night at the Cajundome.

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