UVSC can't hold lead after rallying in second half

LAFAYETTE, La. -- A big second-half UVSC run was erased by a Louisiana-Lafayette spurt as the Ragin' Cajuns edged the Wolverine men's basketball team, 67-59, on Tuesday.

UtVSC erased a nine-point halftime deficit to take the lead by as many as four points in the second half. The Wolverines were whistled for 23 fouls in the physical game.

Josh Olsen led a trio of UVSC double-figure scorers, as he scored a team-high 13. Jordan Brady added 10 points and nine rebounds while Brett Ravenberg scored a season-high 10 for UVSC. Louisiana-Lafayette was led by David Dees, who led all scorers with 20.

"We continued to fight and battle," UVSC head coach Dick Hunsaker said. "There were no white flags. Louisiana made more plays down the stretch than we did."

The two teams battled back and forth in the early going with UVSC taking a 13-12 lead on a Brett Ravenberg layup at the 14:30 mark of the first half.

Louisiana-Lafayette came back with an 8-1 run over the next five minutes to build a 20-14 lead. From there, the Rangin' Cajuns defense held the Wolverines without a field goal for a long stretch during the middle of the half. After building a 12-point advantage at 31-19 with 2:34, the Wolverines out scored Louisiana-Lafayette 5-2 to finish the half down 33-22

UVSC came on of the halftime break on fire, going on a 21-9 run over the first 10 minutes of the second half. The Wolverines took their first lead since early in the first half on a Brett Ravenberg putback with 10:55 left in the game.

UVSC held on to the lead for five minutes before Louisiana-Lafayette went on an 8-0 run to take a 57-53 lead with 4:09 remaining in the game. The Ragin' Cajuns wouldn't relinquish the lead.

The Wolverines will travel home for a short stay before heading back out on the road for a game at Cal State Bakersfield on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. (MT)

• TCU 74, New Mexico 72: At Fort Worth, Texas, Ryan Wall hit a 3-pointer with four seconds remaining to give TCU a victory over New Mexico.

Wall's shot from the corner gave the Horned Frogs (10-6, 2-1 Mountain West) their first lead since New Mexico went up 9-8 on a 3-pointer by Dairese Gary with 11:25 left in the first half. New Mexico led by as many as 18 early in the second half.

Jason Ebie tied the game for TCU at 59-59 on a 3-pointer with 5:20 left. But Chad Toppert responded with a 3-pointer of his own.

Brent Hackett hit a jumper with 18 seconds left to cut New Mexico's lead to 72-71 and Ebie got a steal, setting up Wall's only points of the night.

Kevin Langford and Henry Salter each scored 16 points for TCU. Langford got 11 of his 16 in the second half. John Ortiz and Hackett each had 13 for the Horned Frogs.

Darren Prentice came off the bench to score 19 for New Mexico.