AJ Cajuste Delivers Game-Winning Layup in the Final Second of the Game to Give the Lumberjacks the Win in a Overtime Thriller

Wednesday, December 14

Ruston, La.

6:00 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin

6-4,0-0WAC

Louisiana Tech

-64,00 CUSA

OT 1

SFA

Louisiana Tech

AJ Cajuste Delivers Game-Winning Layup in the Final Second of the Game to Give the Lumberjacks the Win in a Overtime Thriller

12/14/2022 8:27:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Colby Jackson, SFA Student Assistant for Strategic Communications

RUSTON, La. - Stephen F. Austin defeated Louisiana Tech 80-79 in overtime Thursday night in non-conference action. The Lumberjacks improve to 6-4 and the Bulldogs fall to 6-4.

It took all 40 minutes and then some to decide the winner of this intense battle between the Lumberjacks and the Bulldogs. For the third straight time between these two teams, the game was decided in the final seconds of the game, and for the second straight time, it was decided in overtime. The match was a back-and-forth battle all game long as there were 12 lead changes and nine instances where the score was tied. But in the end, AJ Cajuste had the final say in this matchup as he drove down the court with under five seconds remaining, sliced through four defenders, and made the game-winning layup with under a second remaining. With this victory in Ruston, the Lumberjacks break the Bulldogs record of 31 straight wins against non-conference teams at home, dating back to late 2017.

Nothing was easy in this win as the 'Jacks overcame adversity. They committed a team season-high 28 turnovers which allowed the Bulldogs to stay in reach of the lead and score 23 points off those turnovers. The injury bug has also stung the 'Jacks as they traveled to Ruston with only eight healthy players eligible to play. Because of the injuries, all of the Lumberjacks who played tonight played a season-high number of minutes in the match.

Kyle Hayman had a memorable homecoming as he returned to his home state of Louisiana and scored a career-high 18 points, went a perfect 4-4 on three-pointers, and led the 'Jacks in scoring. Hayman wasn't the only one who lit up the score sheet, as four more additional Lumberjacks scored over 13 points. Cajuste put 16 points on the board which included going 3-4 on three-pointers and the most important layup of the game. Sadaidriene Hall also scored 16 points on the match and led the team with eight rebounds. Latrell Jossell was on fire in the second half as he made three consecutive three-pointers in the span of three minutes and totaled five buckets from beyond the arc to tally 15 points on the night. Nigel Hawkins played a pivotal role all game as he recorded 13 points, five assists, and five rebounds.

In a very tight and evenly competitive match, the 'Jacks led in the following statistical categories: field goal percentage (52-47), three-point percentage (44-20), free-throw percentage (89-62), total rebounds (35-32), bench points (34-24), assists (20-19).

The 'Jacks look to stay hot on the road as they travel to Greenville, South Carolina for their next matchup against Furman on Saturday, December 17th with tipoff at 3:30 p.m.