University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Thursday, January 30
Little Rock, Ark.
7 p.m.
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
at
Little Rock
Cajuns Continue SBC Play At UALR on Thursday
1/27/2014 12:56:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Contact: Brian McCann
Complete Game Notes (PDF)
Game 21
Louisiana (12-8, 3-4) at UALR (12-10, 5-3)
Date: Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014
Time: 7:05 p.m. CST
Site: Jack Stephens Center (5,600), Little Rock, Ark.
Radio: KPEL (1420 AM) & KHXT (107.9 FM) (Jay Walker)
TV: None
Series: Louisiana leads, 22-17
Last Meeting: UALR 77, Louisiana 68 (2/28/13, Little Rock, Ark.)
THE COACHES:
LOUISIANA
BOB MARLIN (Mississippi State '81)
At Louisiana: 55-59 (4th year)
4-Year Overall: 280-190 (16th year)
All Collegiate: 403-225 (21st year)
vs. UALR: 3-3
UALR
STEVE SHIELDS (Baylor '88)
At UALR: 176-153 (11th year)
Overall: 176-153 (11th year)
vs. Louisiana: 10-6
SETTING THE SCENE: The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (12-8, 3-4) close the first half Sun Belt Conference play this week. The Cajuns open the week with a 7:05 p.m. game at UALR on Thursday, Jan.3 in the Jack Stephens Center before returning home to face ULM at 7:15 p.m. on Saturday (Feb. 1). The Cajuns are coming off a disappointing weekend that saw their eight-game home win streak come to an end with losses to Georgia State (77-70) and WKU (79-70), moving Louisiana into sixth place in the Sun Belt standings. Shawn Long (20.2 ppg) and Elfrid Payton (19.6) continue to be the top scoring duo in the country with Long ranked in the top 10 nationally in rebounding and Payton ranked in the top 15 in both assists and steals. UALR (12-10, 5-3) is 1.5 games ahead of the Cajuns in the standings. Louisiana has a 22-17 lead in the all-time series, but the Trojans won the only game last year and are 12-7 in games played in Little Rock.
PREVIEWING LOUISIANA: As the Sun Belt season approaches the halfway point, Louisiana is 12-8 overall and 3-4 in league play. The Cajuns have benefited from the return of five starters and a total of 10 lettermen from last year's squad that went 13-20, leading fourth-year head coach Bob Marlin to feel confident that the Cajuns have taken a big step forward. The team is centered around the duo of point guard Elfrid Payton (19.6 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 6.1 apg, 2.5 spg) and forward Shawn Long (20.2 ppg, 10.9 rpg, 3.1 bpg), both of whom were named to the preseason All-Sun Belt first team this year. Long plays mostly at center with Elridge Moore (5.0, 3.9) playing at power forward after missing five games with an ankle injury. Bryant Mbamalu (8.4, 3.0), who started 26 games as a wing guard last season, has returned after missing the first 12 games with a foot injury and is starting on the wing, opposite junior newcomer Xavian Rimmer (7.3, 2.2). The bench has been solid with sophomore Kasey Shepherd (8.2, 2.4) and junior Kevin Brown (6.7, 1.6) providing depth at guard, sophomore Steven Wronkoski (5.2, 2.4) seeing action both on the win and at small forward and junior J.J. Davenport (3.3, 2.7), who played the last two seasons at New Mexico Junior College, playing at center. The third unit consists of a trio of freshmen, Hayward Register (2.0) at guard, Luka Kamber (0.5, 1.3) at forward and Vieux Kande (1.2, 0.8) at center. Marlin is utilizing the depth and quickness by forcing an up-tempo game at both ends of the court by applying more defensive pressure. The Cajuns use their quickness and outside shooting ability to create a balanced offense, forcing opponents to cover the entire court.
LOUISIANA IN THE NCAA STATS: The Cajuns were featured prominently in the latest NCAA stats, which were released on Monday (Jan. 27). Shawn Long was fifth in double-doubles (11), seventh in rebounds (10.9), 15th in blocks (3.1) and 25th in scoring (20.2). Junior Elfrid Payton was 14th in steals (2.5), 15th in assists (6.1) and 31st in scoring (19.6), owning one of seven triple doubles in the nation this year. As a team, the Cajuns were 18th in scoring offense (82.3), 27th in steals (8.3) and 48th in three-point field goal defense (.305).
MAKING THE GRADE: One thing that head coach Bob Marlin has emphasized in his three seasons at Louisiana is the necessity that his players give 100-percent both on and off the court. This demand has led to positive results in the classroom. During the spring 2013 semester, the Ragin' Cajuns set a program record with a 2.904 grade point average for the team. They backed that up with a 2.854 during the recently completed fall semester, the second-highest average in the 31 years that athletics has tracked grades, with eight of the 15 players posting a 3.0 or better. In seven semesters under head coach Bob Marlin, the Cajuns have recorded seven of the top 10 semesters in program history.
CAJUNS ARE FINALLY HEALTHY: Cajuns head coach Bob Marlin has disputed the fact listed in most preseason stories that Louisiana has benefited from the return of all five starters this year because up until the UT Arlington game on Jan. 11, he had not had the good fortune to have all five starters from last year healthy at the same time. The return of Elridge Moore for the UT Arlington contest gave Marlin a complete roster of 15 healthy players for the first time all season. Bryant Mbamalu, who started 25 games last year, missed the first 12 games of the year with a foot injury and Moore had been sidelined with an ankle sprain since mid-December. The Cajuns are now 3-3 playing with all 15 players available.
FLIPPING THE SCRIPT: There was plenty of optimism by the Cajuns heading into the season and through 20 games, that optimism has proven to be warranted. After 20 games last season, the Cajuns were just 7-13, standing in fourth place in the west division (and 10th overall of 11 teams) with a 3-6 league mark. Louisiana enters the week with a 12-8 record and 3-4 in league play.
HOME WIN STREAK SNAPPED: Back-to-back home losses to Georgia State and WKU last week ended Louisiana's eight-game home winning streak. The streak, which began with the 101-67 win over Louisiana College in the season opener, was the sixth-longest home streak since Louisiana moved into the Cajundome for the 1985-86 season. It equaled the eight-game streak that the Cajuns registered from January, 2011 through early November, 2012, Marlin's second season on the bench at Louisiana. It was the longest home win streak since the Cajuns rattled off 10 straight from Jan. 2003 through Dec. 2004, the last of which was a 67-50 win over Georgia State (12/20/04), this week's first opponent. The Cajundome record is a 21-game streak from Dec. 2001 until Feb. 2003.
SCORING OFF THE GLASS: Shawn Long has made the most of his rebounding opportunities this year, scoring 42 baskets off his 74 offensive rebounds this season for an average of 4.2 points a game. Long ranks third in the Sun Belt averaging 3.6 offensive rebounds a game and second in scoring (20.8).
CHANGING STARTERS DOESN'T MATTER: On most teams, the starting lineup only changes when bad things happen, but that has not been the case with the Ragin' Cajuns this year. As head coach Bob Marlin has pointed out, it doesn't matter who starts, but who finishes. Louisiana used the same lineup (Payton, Brown, Wronkoski, Moore & Long) through the first nine games, going 6-3. An injury to Moore followed by the return of Bryant Mbamalu has resulted in Marlin using nine different starting units over the last 11 games. Elfrid Payton is the only player to start every game, while eight other players have earned starts during the year.
STREAKING FROM THE LINE: The Cajuns have shown improvement from the foul line since the beginning of Sun Belt Conference play, going 136-for-190 (.716) to improve to .683 for the year (364-for-533). Kasey Shepherd leads the team, making 31-of-33 attempts to shoot .939 from the stripe. He opened the year with 16 straight makes before missing once each in back-to-back games against Central Methodist (Dec. 30) and at ULM (Jan. 4). Shepherd has now made a modest 10 straight free throws. Xavian Rimmer is shooting .854 from the line (35-for-41), having his streak of 26 straight free throws made snapped against WKU (1/25/14). Center J.J. Davenport opened the year by making just one of his first four attempts, but bounced back to make 21 straight before missing his second attempt at Troy on Jan. 16. Davenport is shooting .846 (22-26) for the year. After making nine of his first 19 attempts to open the season, Kevin Brown has made 11 straight over the last seven games.
. . . AND PAYTON HAS SPENT THE SEASON AT THE LINE: With 196 free throw attempts this year, Elfrid Payton enters the week ranked third nationally in free throw attempts. Niagara's Antoine Mason leads the country with 251 attempts while Tennessee State's Patrick Miller (204) is second. Payton has shot 538 career free throws, including 133 as a freshman in 2011-12 and 209 in 2012-13, the sixth-highest single season total in school history. He has attempted eight or more free throws in a game 14 times this season.
THE DRIVE FOR 1,000: With Elfrid Payton already surpassing the 1,000 point mark for his career this season, the attention turns to sophomore Shawn Long and senior Bryant Mbamalu, who should become the 41st and 42nd Cajuns to accomplish the feat. Long enters the week with 915 career points while Mbamalu has 861 points. Long is also attempting to become just the fifth player to reach 1,000 points as a sophomore, joining Bo Lamar (1,631 points), Andrew Toney (1,269), Kevin Brooks (1,053) and Jerry Flake (1,042).
A TRIPLE-DOUBLE FOR PAYTON: After flirting with it a half-dozen times over the last 40 games, junior Elfrid Payton recorded the first triple-doule of his career when he set career highs for scoring (34), rebounds (11) and assists (11) at ULM on Jan. 4. It was the sixth triple-double in school history and one of seven in the nation this year. Michael Southall recorded the last triple-double by a Cajun when he had one at North Texas in 2005-06. Here are a list of triple-doubles in Cajuns basketball history (all are points-rebounds-assists except where noted with *):
Elfrid Payton at ULM (Jan. 4, 2014) (34 pts, 11 reb, 11 asst.)
Michael Southall @ North Texas (Jan. 5, 2006) (19 pts, 12 reb, 11 blocks)
Aaron Mitchell vs. Jackson State (Dec. 1, 1989) (21-10-10)
Randal Smith vs. Rider (Jan. 8, 1987) (22-11-11)
George Almones vs. Long Island (Jan. 28, 1985) (12-16-11)
George Almones vs. ULM (Feb. 14, 1983) (14-10-12)
MARLIN CLAIMS 400TH VICTORY: Louisiana head coach Bob Marlin used a 90-58 win over Central Methodist on Dec. 30 to claim his 400th as a head coach at the collegiate level. Marlin enters the Georgia State game with a 403-225 record (.642) in 21 seasons as a head coach. He was 123-35 in five seasons at Pensacola Junior College (1990-95), winning the 1993 national championship, and 225-131 in 12 years at Sam Houston State (1998-2010). He reached the 50-win mark at Louisiana in the win over Houston on Dec. 14 and owns a 55-59 record.
SHEPHERD SPARKS THE CAJUNS: The emergence of Kasey Shepherd has provided the Cajuns with a scoring spark off the bench this season. Shepherd, who averaged 3.4 points in 10.9 minutes of action last year, started the year slowly, averaging just 2.7 points over the first six games. He has now settled into the offense, averaging 10.5 points over the last 14 games, including 17 or more points five times. He leads the Sun Belt shooting .542 from behind the three-point line (26-for-48) while also shooting .535 from the field (53-for-99) and .939 from the line (31-for-33). He earned the LSWA Player of the Week award on Dec. 9 after scoring 22 points at Louisiana Tech and 18 at Louisville.
SHEPHERD & RIMMER ARE A ONE-TWO PUNCH: The graduation of Alan-Michael Thompson and the injury to Bryant Mbamalu left the Cajuns without their two most effective three-point shooters at the start of the season. Their loss has been offset by the addition of Xavian Rimmer and the maturation of Kasey Shepherd. Shepherd leads the Sun Belt shooting .542 from three-point range (26-for-48) while Rimmer is fourth at .420 (29-for-69). With Shepherd and Rimmer leading the way, the Cajuns rank third in the Sun Belt, making 143 of their 394 three-point attempts (.363). Last year, Louisiana shot .341 from behind the three-point line (226-for-663).
MBAMALU BACK: After missing the first 12 games of the season with a foot injury suffered in September, senior Bryant Mbamalu returned to the lineup on Dec. 30 and has played in the last five games. After totalling a combined nine points and four rebounds in his first two games, he has averaged 9.7 points and 3.3 rebounds in his last six appearances, each as a starter. Mbamalu scored a season-high 14 points vs. Texas State and has shot 10-for-23 (.435) from behind the three-point line this season. As a junior in 2012-13, Mbamalu started all but seven games as a wing guard, averaging 13.8 points and 3.7 rebounds a game, finishing second on the team with 49 treys. He scored in double figures 21 times, including five 20-point games.
PAYTON MOVES UP SCORING CHART: A 16-point effort against WKU on Saturday enabled Elfrid Payton to move past Brad Boyd (1,130 points from 2000-04) into 30th place on the Louisiana career scoring chart with 1,145 career points. Payton became the 40th Cajun to score 1,000 career points in the win over Central Methodist on Monday (Jan. 4). Payton, who is averaging 19.6 points, has three career 30-point games and twenty 20-point efforts.
20-POINT GAMES: The versatility of the Louisiana lineup this season is evident by the four Cajuns who have combined to score 20 or more points in a game 23 times in the first 20 games this season. Shawn Long (10) and Elfrid Payton (10) lead the way, including four contests in which they both scored 20 points. Xavian Rimmer (2) and Kasey Shepherd (1) have come off the bench to reach the mark. Last year, Cajuns players had 25, 20-point games, with all but one coming from a starter. Payton and Long had nine each with Bryant Mbamalu adding five and Alan-Michael Thompson getting two.
. . . AND 30-POINT EFFORTS: When Elfrid Payton set a career-high with 34 points at ULM, it marked the fourth time this season that Ragin' Cajuns player scored 30 or more points in a game. Payton owns three of the efforts, scoring 31 points against Houston (Dec. 14) and a 32 points vs. Oakland (Nov. 23) while Shawn Long has the other, a 30-point effort vs. Centenary. Last year, Payton scored 32 points against Western Kentucky for the only 30-point game by a Cajun.
RIMMER COMES THROUGH IN THE CLUTCH: Junior Xavian Rimmer has only been with the Cajuns for 20 games, but he is quickly gaining a reputation for making the last-second shot. At Jackson State on Dec. 19, he made a three-pointer with nine seconds left to tie the game at 67-67. On Jan. 4 at ULM, he was fouled with 2.3 seconds left and made all three free throws to tie the game at 74-74 and force overtime.
PAYTON MOVES UP TO EIGHTH IN ASSISTS: A six-assist performance vs. WKU on Saturday allowed Elfrid Payton to move past Johnny Collins (399 assists from 1982-83) and into eight place with 400 career assists. Payton is one assist behind seventh place Kenneth Lawrence (401, 2000-03) and two behind sixth-place George Almones (402, 1983-85).
LONG MOVES INTO FOURTH ON BLOCKS CHART: Nine blocked shots in the two games last week has propelled sophomore Shawn Long past Tyren Johnson (120 blocks from 2007-08) and into fourth place on the career blocks list with 126 career blocks. Long had 65 blocks last year as a freshman, the sixth-highest single season total in Cajuns history, and 57 this season, the seventh-highest total.
NEXT UP: The Cajuns return home to finish the first half of the Sun Belt schedule, hosting ULM on Saturday (Feb. 1) at 7:15 p.m. in the Cajundome.
Complete Game Notes (PDF)
Game 21
Louisiana (12-8, 3-4) at UALR (12-10, 5-3)
Date: Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014
Time: 7:05 p.m. CST
Site: Jack Stephens Center (5,600), Little Rock, Ark.
Radio: KPEL (1420 AM) & KHXT (107.9 FM) (Jay Walker)
TV: None
Series: Louisiana leads, 22-17
Last Meeting: UALR 77, Louisiana 68 (2/28/13, Little Rock, Ark.)
THE COACHES:
LOUISIANA
BOB MARLIN (Mississippi State '81)
At Louisiana: 55-59 (4th year)
4-Year Overall: 280-190 (16th year)
All Collegiate: 403-225 (21st year)
vs. UALR: 3-3
UALR
STEVE SHIELDS (Baylor '88)
At UALR: 176-153 (11th year)
Overall: 176-153 (11th year)
vs. Louisiana: 10-6
SETTING THE SCENE: The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (12-8, 3-4) close the first half Sun Belt Conference play this week. The Cajuns open the week with a 7:05 p.m. game at UALR on Thursday, Jan.3 in the Jack Stephens Center before returning home to face ULM at 7:15 p.m. on Saturday (Feb. 1). The Cajuns are coming off a disappointing weekend that saw their eight-game home win streak come to an end with losses to Georgia State (77-70) and WKU (79-70), moving Louisiana into sixth place in the Sun Belt standings. Shawn Long (20.2 ppg) and Elfrid Payton (19.6) continue to be the top scoring duo in the country with Long ranked in the top 10 nationally in rebounding and Payton ranked in the top 15 in both assists and steals. UALR (12-10, 5-3) is 1.5 games ahead of the Cajuns in the standings. Louisiana has a 22-17 lead in the all-time series, but the Trojans won the only game last year and are 12-7 in games played in Little Rock.
PREVIEWING LOUISIANA: As the Sun Belt season approaches the halfway point, Louisiana is 12-8 overall and 3-4 in league play. The Cajuns have benefited from the return of five starters and a total of 10 lettermen from last year's squad that went 13-20, leading fourth-year head coach Bob Marlin to feel confident that the Cajuns have taken a big step forward. The team is centered around the duo of point guard Elfrid Payton (19.6 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 6.1 apg, 2.5 spg) and forward Shawn Long (20.2 ppg, 10.9 rpg, 3.1 bpg), both of whom were named to the preseason All-Sun Belt first team this year. Long plays mostly at center with Elridge Moore (5.0, 3.9) playing at power forward after missing five games with an ankle injury. Bryant Mbamalu (8.4, 3.0), who started 26 games as a wing guard last season, has returned after missing the first 12 games with a foot injury and is starting on the wing, opposite junior newcomer Xavian Rimmer (7.3, 2.2). The bench has been solid with sophomore Kasey Shepherd (8.2, 2.4) and junior Kevin Brown (6.7, 1.6) providing depth at guard, sophomore Steven Wronkoski (5.2, 2.4) seeing action both on the win and at small forward and junior J.J. Davenport (3.3, 2.7), who played the last two seasons at New Mexico Junior College, playing at center. The third unit consists of a trio of freshmen, Hayward Register (2.0) at guard, Luka Kamber (0.5, 1.3) at forward and Vieux Kande (1.2, 0.8) at center. Marlin is utilizing the depth and quickness by forcing an up-tempo game at both ends of the court by applying more defensive pressure. The Cajuns use their quickness and outside shooting ability to create a balanced offense, forcing opponents to cover the entire court.
LOUISIANA IN THE NCAA STATS: The Cajuns were featured prominently in the latest NCAA stats, which were released on Monday (Jan. 27). Shawn Long was fifth in double-doubles (11), seventh in rebounds (10.9), 15th in blocks (3.1) and 25th in scoring (20.2). Junior Elfrid Payton was 14th in steals (2.5), 15th in assists (6.1) and 31st in scoring (19.6), owning one of seven triple doubles in the nation this year. As a team, the Cajuns were 18th in scoring offense (82.3), 27th in steals (8.3) and 48th in three-point field goal defense (.305).
MAKING THE GRADE: One thing that head coach Bob Marlin has emphasized in his three seasons at Louisiana is the necessity that his players give 100-percent both on and off the court. This demand has led to positive results in the classroom. During the spring 2013 semester, the Ragin' Cajuns set a program record with a 2.904 grade point average for the team. They backed that up with a 2.854 during the recently completed fall semester, the second-highest average in the 31 years that athletics has tracked grades, with eight of the 15 players posting a 3.0 or better. In seven semesters under head coach Bob Marlin, the Cajuns have recorded seven of the top 10 semesters in program history.
CAJUNS ARE FINALLY HEALTHY: Cajuns head coach Bob Marlin has disputed the fact listed in most preseason stories that Louisiana has benefited from the return of all five starters this year because up until the UT Arlington game on Jan. 11, he had not had the good fortune to have all five starters from last year healthy at the same time. The return of Elridge Moore for the UT Arlington contest gave Marlin a complete roster of 15 healthy players for the first time all season. Bryant Mbamalu, who started 25 games last year, missed the first 12 games of the year with a foot injury and Moore had been sidelined with an ankle sprain since mid-December. The Cajuns are now 3-3 playing with all 15 players available.
FLIPPING THE SCRIPT: There was plenty of optimism by the Cajuns heading into the season and through 20 games, that optimism has proven to be warranted. After 20 games last season, the Cajuns were just 7-13, standing in fourth place in the west division (and 10th overall of 11 teams) with a 3-6 league mark. Louisiana enters the week with a 12-8 record and 3-4 in league play.
HOME WIN STREAK SNAPPED: Back-to-back home losses to Georgia State and WKU last week ended Louisiana's eight-game home winning streak. The streak, which began with the 101-67 win over Louisiana College in the season opener, was the sixth-longest home streak since Louisiana moved into the Cajundome for the 1985-86 season. It equaled the eight-game streak that the Cajuns registered from January, 2011 through early November, 2012, Marlin's second season on the bench at Louisiana. It was the longest home win streak since the Cajuns rattled off 10 straight from Jan. 2003 through Dec. 2004, the last of which was a 67-50 win over Georgia State (12/20/04), this week's first opponent. The Cajundome record is a 21-game streak from Dec. 2001 until Feb. 2003.
SCORING OFF THE GLASS: Shawn Long has made the most of his rebounding opportunities this year, scoring 42 baskets off his 74 offensive rebounds this season for an average of 4.2 points a game. Long ranks third in the Sun Belt averaging 3.6 offensive rebounds a game and second in scoring (20.8).
CHANGING STARTERS DOESN'T MATTER: On most teams, the starting lineup only changes when bad things happen, but that has not been the case with the Ragin' Cajuns this year. As head coach Bob Marlin has pointed out, it doesn't matter who starts, but who finishes. Louisiana used the same lineup (Payton, Brown, Wronkoski, Moore & Long) through the first nine games, going 6-3. An injury to Moore followed by the return of Bryant Mbamalu has resulted in Marlin using nine different starting units over the last 11 games. Elfrid Payton is the only player to start every game, while eight other players have earned starts during the year.
STREAKING FROM THE LINE: The Cajuns have shown improvement from the foul line since the beginning of Sun Belt Conference play, going 136-for-190 (.716) to improve to .683 for the year (364-for-533). Kasey Shepherd leads the team, making 31-of-33 attempts to shoot .939 from the stripe. He opened the year with 16 straight makes before missing once each in back-to-back games against Central Methodist (Dec. 30) and at ULM (Jan. 4). Shepherd has now made a modest 10 straight free throws. Xavian Rimmer is shooting .854 from the line (35-for-41), having his streak of 26 straight free throws made snapped against WKU (1/25/14). Center J.J. Davenport opened the year by making just one of his first four attempts, but bounced back to make 21 straight before missing his second attempt at Troy on Jan. 16. Davenport is shooting .846 (22-26) for the year. After making nine of his first 19 attempts to open the season, Kevin Brown has made 11 straight over the last seven games.
. . . AND PAYTON HAS SPENT THE SEASON AT THE LINE: With 196 free throw attempts this year, Elfrid Payton enters the week ranked third nationally in free throw attempts. Niagara's Antoine Mason leads the country with 251 attempts while Tennessee State's Patrick Miller (204) is second. Payton has shot 538 career free throws, including 133 as a freshman in 2011-12 and 209 in 2012-13, the sixth-highest single season total in school history. He has attempted eight or more free throws in a game 14 times this season.
THE DRIVE FOR 1,000: With Elfrid Payton already surpassing the 1,000 point mark for his career this season, the attention turns to sophomore Shawn Long and senior Bryant Mbamalu, who should become the 41st and 42nd Cajuns to accomplish the feat. Long enters the week with 915 career points while Mbamalu has 861 points. Long is also attempting to become just the fifth player to reach 1,000 points as a sophomore, joining Bo Lamar (1,631 points), Andrew Toney (1,269), Kevin Brooks (1,053) and Jerry Flake (1,042).
A TRIPLE-DOUBLE FOR PAYTON: After flirting with it a half-dozen times over the last 40 games, junior Elfrid Payton recorded the first triple-doule of his career when he set career highs for scoring (34), rebounds (11) and assists (11) at ULM on Jan. 4. It was the sixth triple-double in school history and one of seven in the nation this year. Michael Southall recorded the last triple-double by a Cajun when he had one at North Texas in 2005-06. Here are a list of triple-doubles in Cajuns basketball history (all are points-rebounds-assists except where noted with *):
Elfrid Payton at ULM (Jan. 4, 2014) (34 pts, 11 reb, 11 asst.)
Michael Southall @ North Texas (Jan. 5, 2006) (19 pts, 12 reb, 11 blocks)
Aaron Mitchell vs. Jackson State (Dec. 1, 1989) (21-10-10)
Randal Smith vs. Rider (Jan. 8, 1987) (22-11-11)
George Almones vs. Long Island (Jan. 28, 1985) (12-16-11)
George Almones vs. ULM (Feb. 14, 1983) (14-10-12)
MARLIN CLAIMS 400TH VICTORY: Louisiana head coach Bob Marlin used a 90-58 win over Central Methodist on Dec. 30 to claim his 400th as a head coach at the collegiate level. Marlin enters the Georgia State game with a 403-225 record (.642) in 21 seasons as a head coach. He was 123-35 in five seasons at Pensacola Junior College (1990-95), winning the 1993 national championship, and 225-131 in 12 years at Sam Houston State (1998-2010). He reached the 50-win mark at Louisiana in the win over Houston on Dec. 14 and owns a 55-59 record.
SHEPHERD SPARKS THE CAJUNS: The emergence of Kasey Shepherd has provided the Cajuns with a scoring spark off the bench this season. Shepherd, who averaged 3.4 points in 10.9 minutes of action last year, started the year slowly, averaging just 2.7 points over the first six games. He has now settled into the offense, averaging 10.5 points over the last 14 games, including 17 or more points five times. He leads the Sun Belt shooting .542 from behind the three-point line (26-for-48) while also shooting .535 from the field (53-for-99) and .939 from the line (31-for-33). He earned the LSWA Player of the Week award on Dec. 9 after scoring 22 points at Louisiana Tech and 18 at Louisville.
SHEPHERD & RIMMER ARE A ONE-TWO PUNCH: The graduation of Alan-Michael Thompson and the injury to Bryant Mbamalu left the Cajuns without their two most effective three-point shooters at the start of the season. Their loss has been offset by the addition of Xavian Rimmer and the maturation of Kasey Shepherd. Shepherd leads the Sun Belt shooting .542 from three-point range (26-for-48) while Rimmer is fourth at .420 (29-for-69). With Shepherd and Rimmer leading the way, the Cajuns rank third in the Sun Belt, making 143 of their 394 three-point attempts (.363). Last year, Louisiana shot .341 from behind the three-point line (226-for-663).
MBAMALU BACK: After missing the first 12 games of the season with a foot injury suffered in September, senior Bryant Mbamalu returned to the lineup on Dec. 30 and has played in the last five games. After totalling a combined nine points and four rebounds in his first two games, he has averaged 9.7 points and 3.3 rebounds in his last six appearances, each as a starter. Mbamalu scored a season-high 14 points vs. Texas State and has shot 10-for-23 (.435) from behind the three-point line this season. As a junior in 2012-13, Mbamalu started all but seven games as a wing guard, averaging 13.8 points and 3.7 rebounds a game, finishing second on the team with 49 treys. He scored in double figures 21 times, including five 20-point games.
PAYTON MOVES UP SCORING CHART: A 16-point effort against WKU on Saturday enabled Elfrid Payton to move past Brad Boyd (1,130 points from 2000-04) into 30th place on the Louisiana career scoring chart with 1,145 career points. Payton became the 40th Cajun to score 1,000 career points in the win over Central Methodist on Monday (Jan. 4). Payton, who is averaging 19.6 points, has three career 30-point games and twenty 20-point efforts.
20-POINT GAMES: The versatility of the Louisiana lineup this season is evident by the four Cajuns who have combined to score 20 or more points in a game 23 times in the first 20 games this season. Shawn Long (10) and Elfrid Payton (10) lead the way, including four contests in which they both scored 20 points. Xavian Rimmer (2) and Kasey Shepherd (1) have come off the bench to reach the mark. Last year, Cajuns players had 25, 20-point games, with all but one coming from a starter. Payton and Long had nine each with Bryant Mbamalu adding five and Alan-Michael Thompson getting two.
. . . AND 30-POINT EFFORTS: When Elfrid Payton set a career-high with 34 points at ULM, it marked the fourth time this season that Ragin' Cajuns player scored 30 or more points in a game. Payton owns three of the efforts, scoring 31 points against Houston (Dec. 14) and a 32 points vs. Oakland (Nov. 23) while Shawn Long has the other, a 30-point effort vs. Centenary. Last year, Payton scored 32 points against Western Kentucky for the only 30-point game by a Cajun.
RIMMER COMES THROUGH IN THE CLUTCH: Junior Xavian Rimmer has only been with the Cajuns for 20 games, but he is quickly gaining a reputation for making the last-second shot. At Jackson State on Dec. 19, he made a three-pointer with nine seconds left to tie the game at 67-67. On Jan. 4 at ULM, he was fouled with 2.3 seconds left and made all three free throws to tie the game at 74-74 and force overtime.
PAYTON MOVES UP TO EIGHTH IN ASSISTS: A six-assist performance vs. WKU on Saturday allowed Elfrid Payton to move past Johnny Collins (399 assists from 1982-83) and into eight place with 400 career assists. Payton is one assist behind seventh place Kenneth Lawrence (401, 2000-03) and two behind sixth-place George Almones (402, 1983-85).
LONG MOVES INTO FOURTH ON BLOCKS CHART: Nine blocked shots in the two games last week has propelled sophomore Shawn Long past Tyren Johnson (120 blocks from 2007-08) and into fourth place on the career blocks list with 126 career blocks. Long had 65 blocks last year as a freshman, the sixth-highest single season total in Cajuns history, and 57 this season, the seventh-highest total.
NEXT UP: The Cajuns return home to finish the first half of the Sun Belt schedule, hosting ULM on Saturday (Feb. 1) at 7:15 p.m. in the Cajundome.
Quannas White Media Availability (Jan 20, 2026)
Tuesday, January 20
Quannas White Media Availability (Jan 12, 2026)
Monday, January 12
Quannas White Media Availability (Jan 10th, 2026)
Saturday, January 10
Dariyus Woodson and Dorian Finister Media Availability (Jan 10, 2026)
Saturday, January 10
