Recap: North Texas vs. Louisiana

Denton, TX (Sports Network) - Shawn Long scored 27 points in 29 minutes before fouling out as the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns outlasted the North Texas Mean Green to pick up an 80-76 victory in a Sun Belt Conference battle at The Super Pit.

Bryant Mbamalu made all six of his field goal attempts, five of which were from beyond the arc, to contribute 19 points in the win for Louisiana (3-5, 1-1 Sun Belt). Shawn Long made good on 9-of-13 from the floor including 8-of-8 free throws, while Elfrid Payton joined in with 14 points.

For the Mean Green (3-5, 0-1 Sun Belt), Chris Jones scored a team-high 23 points and was joined in double-figure scoring by Roger Franklin and Jordan Williams who contributed 14 and 11 points, respectively.

The first half ended with both teams even at 39-39, Louisiana shot 44.4 percent from the floor while the Mean Green to also made a solid 51.7 percent of their field goals attempts.

The Ragin' Cajuns came out shooting in the second half, knocking down 58.8 percent of their shots from the floor, including an impressive 5-of-6 mark from beyond the arc. They managed to hold the Mean Green to 2-of-5 from long- range in the final 20 minutes. Steven Wronkoski put Louisiana ahead for good by draining a three-pointer with 1:16 left to play.

Louisiana was 50 percent from three-point range while North Texas made only 4- of-9 beyond the arc.

There were 15 ties and 15 lead changes in the game.