Dorian Finister’s 3 with 1.2 seconds left gives UL big win | UL Ragin’ Cajuns

Dorian Finister's 3 with 1.2 seconds left gives UL big win | UL Ragin' Cajuns
February 4, 2026

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Dorian Finister’s 3 with 1.2 seconds left gives UL big win | UL Ragin’ Cajuns

It’s getting to the point where it’s hard to identify the heroes in the victories for the UL Ragin’ Cajuns these days.

Take Wednesday’s 64-61 road win over James Madison at Atlantic Union Bank Center in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

“These guys just kept battling and battling and battling,” White said. “I told them before the game, ‘Let’s scratch and claw for 40 minutes’. Every single guy and this has been for the last couple of games, that touched the floor impacted the game in a positive way.”

The most obvious choice was the club’s most consistent performer in Dorian Finister, who nailed a 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds left to provide the winning margin.

But it would also be a mistake to overlook the huge contributions by Dariyus Woodson in the final game of the game.

First, Woodson hit a 3-pointer with 1:00 left to push UL back into the lead at 61-59.

It appeared the Dukes would regain the lead with 35.2 seconds left when Eddy Ricks’ putback tied the game and he was fouled on the play by Karris Bilal.

But as Bilal went to the bench with his fifth foul, Ricks missed the and-one free throw to keep the game tied.

That gave the Cajuns a chance at taking the last shot. De’Vion Lavergne’s jumper on the right wing went off the back iron, but Woodson grabbed the offensive rebound and passed it out to Finister for the game-winning 3-pointer.

“These kids believe in themselves,” White said. “It’s unbelievable.”

After Finister’s 3-pointer, the Dukes’ attempt at a long pass was deflected by Todd Jones to leave only 0.3 seconds left on the clock and sew up the win for UL.

“I’m really proud of Todd Jones,” White said. “I can’t tell you how huge that was. Stats don’t always tell the whole story.

“I thought about fouling, but my guys came out and said, ‘Coach, we got this.’ I’ve been trusting my guys since day one.”

Woodson finished the game with 14 points on 4-of-5 shooting from 3, along with five rebounds.

As usual, Finister led UL in scoring with 18 points, six rebounds and three assists.

Lavergne was the Cajuns’ only other double-figure scorer with 14 points with two assists.

The win got the Cajuns to 6-6 in Sun Belt play and 8-16 overall, while James Madison dropped to 11-13 overall and 5-8 in league play.

The Cajuns are now just a half-game out of fifth place in the league standings.

For one of the few times this season, UL won a game because of the free throw line … sort of.

It was James Madison’s poor job at the line that allowed the Cajuns to steal the win on the road. While UL made eight of its nine tries at the line, the Dukes only made eight as well but out of 19 attempts for only 42.1%.

That allowed UL to overcome shooting 40.3% from the field compared to 47.9% from the field.

The rebound battle was even at 34-34. UL only committed eight turnovers. The Cajuns won the bench battle 21-18, while the Dukes won the paint category 32-18.

Cliff Davis scored 12 points to lead James Madison, but was limited to two points in the second half.

“I’m just super proud of these guys,” White said. “To come on the road and get a big win, it’s huge.”

UL led for 22:26 in the game, compared to 11:07 for the Dukes. It was a game featuring nine lead changes and 10 ties.

James Madison led the game 32-29 at the half, but the Cajuns opened the second half on a 15-1 run to take a 44-33 lead with 14:15 left to play on one of Woodson’s four 3-pointers.

Lavergne added a 3 and a jumper in the big run and Finister added two baskets..

The Dukes slowly whittled away at UL’s lead, though, before Christian Brown’s putback with 1:13 gave JMU its first lead of the second half at 59-58.

The Cajuns also got six points in the first half from Kyran Ratliff with a pair of 3-pointers for six points and two rebounds in 13 minutes.

“I can’t tell you how huge that was for us,” White said.

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