Josh Brown scored 17 points and Kadeem Coleby added 16 to lead Louisiana-Lafayette to a 73-64 victory over Houston Baptist on Friday night.
Coleby scored seven of his points during a 10-3 first-half run by the Ragin' Cajuns (2-2) that opened a 35-25 lead with 1:21 left in the first half. He also grabbed nine rebounds and blocked three shots in the game.
The lead never dropped below seven points in the second half, when the Huskies (1-2) shot just 25 percent (8 of 32), while the Ragin' Cajuns shot at a 47.6 percent pace (10 of 21).
Tyler Russell scored 15 points and Ronald March 12 to lead Houston Baptist, which got nine points apiece from Joe Latas and Marcel Smith.
The game was part of the three-day Beryl Shipley Classic. Louisiana-Lafayette will face Cal State Fullerton on Saturday, and Houston Baptist will meet Nicholls State.
