LAFAYETTE, La. — Joshua Beadle scored 29 points, including 11 at the free-throw line, and Coastal Carolina led wire-to-wire in a 69-65 win over Louisiana on Thursday at the Cajundome.

The Chanticleers (16-11, 8-6 Sun Belt) built an early double-digit cushion and never trailed, taking a 36-29 lead into halftime after opening the game on a 16-5 run. Rasheed Jones hit a 3-pointer on Coastal's first possession and added another later in the half, while Beadle knocked down a 3 to make it 16-5 with 13:04 left in the opening period.

Louisiana (9-17, 6-7) chipped away in the second half and pulled within 54-52 after Jaxon Olvera scored on a transition layup with 7:39 remaining. The Chanticleers answered with key plays at both ends, including a thunderous dunk by Nadjrick Peat off an offensive rebound to make it 58-54 with 4:26 to play.

Coastal then closed it out at the free throw line. Beadle went 11 of 12 on free throws, hitting two with 23 seconds left to push the lead to 67-62. Olvera drilled a 3-pointer with 15 seconds remaining to cut it to two, but Beadle made two more free throws with 12 seconds left to seal it.

AJ Dancler finished with 15 points on 5 of 15 shooting and went 3 of 6 from 3-point range, including a late 3 with 44 seconds left that gave Coastal a four-point cushion. Jones added 10 points and Peat had six points and six rebounds. Coastal went 20 of 23 at the foul line and held a 26-18 edge in points in the paint and a 34-28 rebounding advantage.

Dorian Finister and Olvera scored 19 points apiece for Louisiana. De'Vion Lavergne added 15 points as the Ragin' Cajuns shot 20 of 56 overall and 5 of 20 from beyond the arc and had its four-game winning streak snapped.

The Chanticleers return to action Wednesday, Feb. 18, against James Madison. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. inside the HTC Center.

POSTGAME NOTES
• The Chanticleers earned their eighth Sun Belt win of the season, their most since winning eight conference games in 2021-22.
• Coastal snapped a three-game losing streak to Louisiana and posted its first victory in Lafayette (1-4).
• CCU registered its eighth road win, its most since posting eight road victories in 2014-15.
• The Chants won their fifth Sun Belt Conference road game of the season, the most in program history.
• Coastal won its 11^th game of the season, decided by six points or less, the most among all Division I teams. Over 68 percent of the Chants' wins this year have been by a half dozen or fewer points.
• Beadle posted his 10^th 20-point game of the season, and fourth 25-point performance of the year. He made a career-high 11 (of 12) free throws.