Box Score LAFAYETTE, La. – Appalachian State University men's basketball came out of the gates slow against the UL Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns and wouldn't be able to overcome a significant first half deficit and fell 79-58 on Saturday evening.

The Mountaineers (2-11, 0-2 Sun Belt) shot just 32.8 percent from the floor on the night and the Cajuns (5-6, 1-1 Sun Belt) shot 47.5 percent from the field, despite a much better second half defensively from App State - holding the Cajuns to just 38.5 (10-of-26) from the field.

Offensively, the Black and Gold were led by senior guard Frank Eaves who poured in 19 points on 6-of-14 shooting from the field. Also in double-figures for Appalachian was freshman Ronshad Shabazz with 11 points.

Senior forward Jacob Lawson provided the Mountaineers with 22 minutes and led the team in rebounding with eight boards on the night to go along with five points and one blocked shot. Freshman guard Emarius Logan came out of the locker room with an aggressive second half of play and notched six points in the contest.

UL Lafayette got out to a quick 13-6 lead heading into the first media timeout of the first half. The Cajuns would stretch the lead to 21-8 with 10:14 remaining. Appalachian battled back to get to within eight points, but an 18-7 run to close the half had the Cajuns up by nineteen at the break.

In the second half, UL Lafayette gradually increased its halftime lead to would lead by as many as 25 points at 58-33 with just 12:29 to go in the game. Appalachian State kept battling and would construct an 8-0 run keyed by an Eaves layup on a back cut to the hoop. Over the course of the run, the Mountaineers got a jumper from Logan and four-straight points from senior forward Michael Obacha. Obacha finished the game with seven points, including going 5-of-6 from the charity stripe.

The deficit would balloon over 20 points after small 4-1 run from the Cajuns. App State kept attempting to make runs late in the half and would get cut the Cajun's lead to 16 points at 68-52, but it wouldn't be enough to overcome.

UL Lafayette was led by their leading scorer for the season, Shawn Long, who finished the game with a double-double of 18 points and 15 rebounds and proved to be too much for the Apps to handle down low. Long contributed to the 42 points in the paint the Cajuns were able to tally on the night - outscoring the Mountaineers by 20 in the category. Leading the Cajuns offensively was Kasey Shepherd who tallied 19 points.

App State limited the Cajun's from beyond the arc and forced them to shoot 4-of-16 from long range, but only connected on 3-of-17 themselves.

Appalachian State will have a few days off before returning to the court on Thursday, Jan. 7 when it hosts UT Arlington at 7:30 p.m. from the Holmes Center.