UL junior forward Bryant Mbamalu

 

Louisiana's Ragin' Cajun men's basketball team came up just a little bit short in non-conference action on Sunday, falling to the 15th-ranked Michigan St. Spartans, 63-60, in East Lansing, Michigan.

Michigan St. led at the half, 33-27, and led by ten points, 60-50, at the 3:09 mark of the game, but Louisiana refused to wave the white flag, cutting the lead to three points, 63-60, with less than a minute to play.

That's as close as the Cajuns would get however, and the Spartans hung on for the three-point win.

Michigan St. out-shot Louisiana from the field 43%-40%, and also out-rebound the Cajuns by a 40-28 count, but also committed 20 turnovers, allowing Louisiana to saty in the game.

Keith Appling led the Spartans in scoring, with 19 points, while Elfrid Payton paced the Cajuns in a losing cause, with a game-high 20 points, along with seven steals.

With the win, Michigan St. improved to 5-1 on the year, while Louisiana fell to 2-4.

The Cajuns return to action on Thursday night, when they host Middle Tennessee in their Sun Belt Conference opener at the Cajundome.

 

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