Smith scores 28; Georgia Southern beats UL-Lafayette 81-76 (Jan 14, 2017)

By AP
Published

LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) Ike Smith scored 28 points and Georgia Southern beat Louisiana-Lafayette 81-76 on Saturday night for its fifth straight win.

The Eagles took the lead for good with 12:50 left, and had a 10-point lead with five minutes to play. Louisiana-Lafayette used a 15-9 spurt to pull to 75-71 with 30 seconds left. Mike Hughes and Tookie Brown each made a pair of free throws to stretch the Eagles' lead to 79-73. The Ragin' Cajuns' Jay Wright made a 3-pointer, and then Hughes made two more from the free-throw line to seal it.

Smith was 9 of 17 from the floor and 8 of 11 from the line. Brown added 19 points and five assists for Georgia Southern (11-6, 4-0 Sun Belt). Hughes made 6 of 8 free throws and finished with eight points.

Wright scored 21 points to lead Louisiana-Lafayette (12-5, 2-2). Bryce Washington added 16 points and 12 rebounds.