The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns led by as much as 14 points in the second half, but needed overtime to get past UALR, 83-79, on Tuesday at the Stephens Center in the Sun Belt Conference opener for both teams.Louisiana (7-5, 1-0 SBC) led 68-54 with 10:02 to play after a pair of free throws, but scored just one field goal for the remainder of regulation and the Trojans (5-6, 0-1 SBC) ended regulation on a 17-6 run, even holding a lead in the final two minutes.Freshmanhit three free throws in the final 1:10 of regulation to tie things back up before the Trojans missed a three-point try at the regulation buzzer to send the game into extra time.In overtime the Cajuns hit five of eight shots from the foul line and got two key buckets from freshmanand, who finished with a game-high 23 points and 12 rebounds.hit four of UL's eight threes on his way to a 20-point, five-assist night, and Washington turned in a big game off the bench, going for nine points and eight rebounds. Stove added eight points and four boards, whileturned in his second double-digit rebound effort in as many games with 11 boards to go with seven points.The Cajuns did much of their damage at the foul line, hitting 19 of 26, while Long and Shepherd paced a Cajun attack that shot 43.1 percent for the game and owned the glass with a 47-39 edge, including 17 offensive rebounds.The Trojans put three players in double figures as well, led by James White's 19 points and eight rebounds.Shepherd kept the Cajuns within striking distance throughout much of the first half, pumping in 15 of his 20 points in the game in the opening 20 minutes. The Trojans led by as much as seven in the first half, but the Cajuns got back within a point four times before tying things up on a layup fromand going ahead on a free throw bywith under three minutes until the half.Louisiana hit five threes in the half, the first three from Shepherd before Long andjoined in on the action with each hitting a triple in the half's final five minutes.The Ragin' Cajuns return home to kick off the new calendar year on Saturday when they host Troy at 7:15 p.m. at the Cajundome.