LAFAYETTE, La. (Interstat) — Joshua Lewis scored 26 points to lift Louisiana-Lafayette to an 85-79 men’s basketball victory over Louisiana-Monroe on Thursday night at Cajundome. The Ragin’ Cajuns, who improved to 4-13, used a 48-point second half to pull away in the Sun Belt Conference game. Lewis, a sophomore from Tampa, Florida, keyed the effort, shooting 10 for 15 from the field. Krystian Lewis led the Warhawks (3-14) with 25 points. Louisiana-Monroe shot 53.8% from the field but was outrebounded 41-28, allowing 14 offensive boards to Louisiana-Lafayette. The game featured 27 combined turnovers and 18 steals. Attendance was 2,341.

LAFAYETTE, La. (Interstat) — In a Sun Belt Conference clash between two teams desperate to escape the league’s cellar, Joshua Lewis delivered a career performance to lift Louisiana-Lafayette to a narrow victory over in-state rival Louisiana-Monroe on Thursday night. Lewis, a 6-foot-7 sophomore from Tampa, Florida, scored a career-high 26 points to propel the Ragin’ Cajuns to an 85-79 win over the Warhawks before 2,341 fans at the Cajundome. The win improved Louisiana-Lafayette to 4-13 overall, while Louisiana-Monroe fell to 3-14. The game, a rematch of a Dec. 20 contest won by the Ragin’ Cajuns 76-62, was a back-and-forth affair defined by runs and resilient responses. The most critical sequence came late in the second half with the outcome still in doubt. Leading 73-71 with just over six minutes to play, Louisiana-Lafayette engineered a decisive 8-0 spurt. De’Vion Lavergne sank a 3-pointer, Dorian Finister converted a driving layup, and Lewis capped the run with a clutch 3-pointer from the wing, pushing the lead to 81-71 with 4:47 remaining and forcing a Warhawks timeout. Louisiana-Monroe, led by Krystian Lewis’s 25 points, refused to fold. The Warhawks clawed back within four points on two occasions in the final 90 seconds, but the Ragin’ Cajuns consistently answered at the free-throw line. Joshua Lewis, who had been stellar all night, calmly made four consecutive free throws in the final 16 seconds to seal the victory. The first half set the tone for a tight contest, with Louisiana-Lafayette taking a slim 37-36 lead into the break. The Warhawks relied on efficient shooting, finishing the game at 53.8% from the field and an impressive 7 of 13 from 3-point range. However, they were undone by a significant deficit on the glass, as the Ragin’ Cajuns dominated the offensive boards 14-3, leading to 13 second-chance points. Joshua Lewis was the catalyst for the home team, adding three rebounds and a block in 31 minutes. His scoring outburst surpassed his previous season high and provided the offensive consistency Louisiana-Lafayette has often lacked. He received strong support from Dariyus Woodson, who scored 17 points off the bench, and Dorian Finister, who added 16 points, four assists and a block. For Louisiana-Monroe, Krystian Lewis, a 6-3 guard from Monroe, played 38 minutes and added three assists to his 25 points. MJ Russell contributed 14 points, while Renars Sondors of Latvia scored 12. The Warhawks won the turnover battle, forcing 15 and committing 12, and scored 40 points in the paint, but could not overcome Louisiana-Lafayette’s extra possessions generated by offensive rebounds. Statistically, the game was remarkably even. Louisiana-Lafayette held a slight edge in offensive rating, 111.7 to 110.6, and made 11 3-pointers to Louisiana-Monroe’s seven, though on 33 attempts. The Warhawks were better from the foul line, making 16 of 22, while the Ragin’ Cajuns hit just 8 of 15. The victory gives Louisiana-Lafayette a season sweep of the series and a modest boost heading into a Saturday home game against Troy. Louisiana-Monroe, still seeking its first Sun Belt win, travels to face Southern Mississippi on Saturday. Both teams entered the night with identical 0-2 conference records, making the head-to-head result a potentially important tiebreaker as they navigate the remainder of a difficult season.

LAFAYETTE, La. (Interstat) — Two men’s basketball teams with identical records and desperate for a Sun Belt Conference win will meet Thursday night when Louisiana-Monroe visits Louisiana-Lafayette at the Cajundome. Both the Warhawks (3-13) and Ragin’ Cajuns (3-13) are looking to halt extended losing streaks and find momentum early in the league schedule. Each team is 0-2 in conference play. The matchup is a quick rematch of a Dec. 20 game in Monroe, which Louisiana-Lafayette won decisively, 76-62. In that contest, the Ragin’ Cajuns held ULM’s standout forward, Lavell Brodnex, to 11 points, though he nearly secured a triple-double with nine rebounds and five assists. Brodnex enters this game as the Warhawks’ primary offensive threat. He is averaging 18.1 points and 7.4 rebounds per game and is coming off a 23-point, 7-rebound performance in a narrow 84-79 home loss to Texas State on Jan. 3. Over his last seven games, Brodnex has scored 20 or more points four times. Louisiana-Lafayette will counter with guard De’Vion Lavergne, who was instrumental in the first meeting with 16 points and eight rebounds. Lavergne leads the Cajuns in scoring at 11.2 points per game and is coming off an 18-point effort in a 74-67 loss to Southern Mississippi on Jan. 3. Both teams have struggled defensively this season. Louisiana-Monroe has allowed 80.6 points per game, while Louisiana-Lafayette’s offense has been stagnant, averaging just 58.3 points over its current three-game losing streak. The Warhawks have lost six straight games since a Dec. 9 win over Arkansas Baptist. The Ragin’ Cajuns’ three-game skid follows their only win in the last month, a 63-54 victory over Norfolk State on Dec. 28. Thursday’s game tips off at 7 p.m. CST. Following this in-state rivalry game, Louisiana-Monroe travels to face Southern Mississippi on Saturday, while Louisiana-Lafayette hosts Troy.