Louisiana's Ragin' Cajun basketball team came up short Friday night in their conference matchup with UT-Arlington, falling to the Mavericks 91-86.

The charity stripe was a difference-maker, as Louisiana went 11-21 from the free-throw line, while UTA was 24-28.

Trailing by as many as 13 in the second half, the Cajuns locked down on defense, closing the deficit to 2 after a Mylik Wilson layup with 3:41 left.

"We made a good comeback and were able to execute to give us an opportunity," said Louisiana head coach Bob Marlin.

Despite their efforts, Mavericks guard Shahada Wells made several contested shots.

Wells led all scorers with 31 and his team in rebounding with 8.

While the Cajuns won the rebounding battle 44-42, they were outworked early on the glass.

"They outworked us early on the glass," said coach Marlin. "We had some guys that weren't ready to play tonight...it hurt us."

Usual starters Cedric Russell and Dou Gueye began the game on the bench, as Devin Butts and Jacobi Gordon started in their place.

"We had a couple of disciplinaries that needed to be tidied up," noted Marlin. "That didn't hurt us at all. In fact, I think we got off to a good start."

With the loss, Louisiana falls to 8-4 on the season and 2-3 in conference play. It also marks the first consecutive defeats of the season for the Ragin' Cajuns.

"We haven't lost 2 in a row all year (until tonight)," said Marlin. "We'll learn a little bit more about our team tomorrow."

Louisiana looks to bounce back tomorrow against UTA. Pregame on ESPN1420 begins at 3:30, with tip-off set for 4:00.

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