Louisiana-Lafayette 43, East Carolina 34
NEW ORLEANS -- Alonzo Harris and Terrance Broadway each rushed for more than 100 yards and they accounted for four touchdowns as Louisiana-Lafayette held off East Carolina, 43-34, in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl on Saturday in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
Harris carried 22 times for 121 yards and scored on runs of 6 and 68 yards and Broadway rushed 15 times for 108 yards and scored on a 12-yard run. Broadway also completed 21-of-32 passes for 317 yards and threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Javone Lawson.
The Ragin' Cajuns, who defeated San Diego State, 32-30 in last year's New Orleans Bowl, won their fourth straight to finish 9-4. The Pirates, who had won their last three, finished 8-5.
ECU trailed by 21 points in the second quarter, but got within 31-21 at halftime and pulled even in the third quarter.
Warren Harvey's 45-yard field goal and Reggie Bullock's 13-yard touchdown run tied the score 31-31 with 5:57 left in the third.
The Cajuns answered with a 76-yard drive that ended with Broadway's touchdown pass to Lawson. Terry Williams blocked Brett Baer's extra point, leaving ULL with a 37-31 lead entering the fourth quarter.
Harvey's 26-yard field goal got the Pirates within 37-34 with 13:36 left in the game. Baer's 25-yard field pushed the lead back to six with 3:11 left, and his 39-yarder completed the scoring with 10 seconds left.
ULL grabbed an early 14-0 lead as Broadway ran 12 yards for a touchdown and Harry Peoples ran 10 yards for another early in the second quarter.
After going three-and-out on its first three possessions, East Carolina drove 77 yards early in the second quarter and Reggie Bullock's 5-yard touchdown run cut the deficit in half.
The Cajuns needed barely a minute and half to answer and Harris' 6-yard run made it 21-7.
On its next possession, ULL marched 98 yards and Harris ran the final 68 for a touchdown that pushed the lead to 28-7.
Lightning struck for the Pirates and got them back in the game. Shane Carden threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Justin Hardy.
On the ensuing kickoff Darryl Surgent fumbled and Justin Venable recovered for ECU at the Cajuns 16. On the next play Carden threw a touchdown pass to Danny Webster to make it 28-21.
After an exchange of punts, ULL drove 47 yards and Baer kicked a 50-yard field goal as time expired to give the Cajuns a 31-21 halftime lead.
The combined 45 second-quarter points tied a bowl record, matching the total Nebraska and Northwestern combined for in the 2000 Alamo Bowl.
