Cajuns Finish Spain Tour 4-0, Topping Eurocolgio Casvi, 90-54

Cajuns Finish Spain Tour 4-0, Topping Eurocolgio Casvi, 90-54

Contact: Nick Ross

Spain Central

MADRID, Spain – The Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team wrapped up their Spain tour undefeated, topping Eurocolgio Casvi 90-54 on Saturday evening, to go 4-0 over a five day span.

Shawn Long led the Cajuns with his first double-double of the tour, scoring 28 points and picking up 12 rebounds. Long also picked up three blocks on the day, heavily contributing on both sides of the court.

The Cajuns used a late-first half adjustment to overtake Casvi and turn on the burners, en route to a 36-point victory.

"We came out a little bit sluggish to start the ball game," head coach Bob Marlin said of the fourth and final game of the tour. "We trailed at the quarter for the first time in the trip so we had to regroup in the second quarter. Elfrid [Payton] and Shawn [Long] made some big plays on four possessions in a row to give us energy and push us in transition to score some easy baskets."

Casvi led the Cajuns 17-13 after the first quarter, hitting three of their first four three pointers to start the game. They extended their lead to 21-15 a few minutes into the second quarter, before the Cajuns ramped up their defensive pressure and caused their hot-shooting offense to run cold.

"It definitely will help us down the road," Marlin said of the team facing adversity for the first time of the trip. "There were some lineups that we used on the trip and especially today that were a little bit different. It will all pay off."

A Shawn Long free throw gave the Cajuns a 26-25 lead in the middle of the second quarter, and Louisiana didn't look back from there.

"We just ran the floor hard." Marlin said of the adjustments when trailing. "Defensively we did a very good job at protecting the baskets. We only gave them one shot and then scored in transition."

The Cajuns went into the locker rooms leading 42-32, ending the quarter on a 27-11 run.

It was all Louisiana from then on, with stingy defense and a high-tempo offensive attack. The Cajuns held Casvi to just 22 points in the second half, running off 48 points of their own.

Besides Long's 28 points, the Cajuns spread the ball around the floor with 11-of-12 Cajuns finding the basket.

Elfrid Payton was second on the team, behind Long, with 10 points, picking up seven rebounds and adding seven assists.

J.J. Davenport tied Long in rebounds with 12 of his own, going into the half with eight. He also scored eight points, going 4-for-4 in free throw attempts, all while the game was close in the second quarter.

As a team the Cajuns shot .783 (18-for-23) from the charity stripe.

The game marks the final night the Cajuns will spend in Spain, flying back to Louisiana tomorrow morning. The four wins highlighted a ten-day tour, in which the Cajuns spent time in Barcelona, Valencia, Albacete and Madrid. They spent time touring the cities, learning about the culture and exploring each city as they pleased.

"It was a great educational experience for our team. To get to see the sights and the different cities is really a blessing. We are fortunate to have made this happen," Marlin said of the trip in whole. "Like a lot of teams that have used these foreign trips before, and a couple teams in our league are on them, it will help down the road with team bonding and chemistry issues."

The Cajuns will now have a few months to regroup and get ready for the start of their 2013-14 campaign.

University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics

Cajuns Finish Spain Tour 4-0, Topping Eurocolgio Casvi, 90-54

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