Cajuns Host Arkansas State With Third Place At Stake

Contact: Brian McCann

Complete Game Notes (PDF)

Game 26
Arkansas State (14-8, 7-4) at Louisiana (16-9, 7-5)
Date: Saturday, Feb. 13, 2014
Time: 7:15 p.m. CST
Promo: Me + 3
(Fans who bring a ticket stub from Saturday's softball or baseball game can get three basketball tickets for free by purchasing one basketball ticket.)
Site: Cajundome (11,550), Lafayette, Louisiana
Radio: KHXT (107.9 FM) (Jay Walker)
TV: None
Series: Louisiana leads, 44-23
Last Meeting: Louisiana 61, Arkansas State 56 (1/12/13, Lafayette, La.)

THE COACHES:
LOUISIANA
BOB MARLIN (Mississippi State '81)
At Louisiana: 59-60 (4th year)
4-Year Overall: 284-191 (16th year)
All Collegiate: 407-226 (21st year)
vs. Arkansas State: 4-4

ARKANSAS STATE
JOHN BRADY (Bellhaven '76)
At ASU: 94-86 (6th year)
Overall: 375-302 (23rd year)
vs. Louisiana: 7-6

SETTING THE SCENE: Third place in the Sun Belt Conference standings will be on the line when the Cajuns host Arkansas State on Saturday, Feb. 15 beginning at 7:15 p.m. in the Cajundome. The game will be a doubleheader with the women's basketball team hosting Arkansas State beginning at 5:00 p.m. After claiming a 93-87 double overtime win over UALR on Thursday night, the Ragin' Cajuns remain undefeated in the month of February. They have registered four straight wins to improve to 16-9 overall and move into fourth place in the Sun Belt with a 7-5 mark. The Cajuns have a commanding 44-34 lead in the all-time series with Arkansas State, but in a scheduling quirk this season, Louisiana and A-State have yet to play despite just six league games remaining to be played. The Red Wolves (14-8, 7-4) are coming off wins over WKU on Monday (72-58) and at South Alabama on Thursday (85-61).

PREVIEWING LOUISIANA: As the Sun Belt season continues the second half of its season, Louisiana is 16-9 overall and 7-5 in league play, good for fourth place. The Cajuns have benefited from the return of five starters and 10 lettermen from last year's 13-20 team, 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 (19.8 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 5.8 apg, 2.3 spg) and forward Shawn Long (19.8 ppg, 10.5 rpg, 2.9 bpg), both of whom were named to the preseason All-Sun Belt first team this year. Long plays mostly at center with Elridge Moore (4.5, 3.6) playing at power forward and Bryant Mbamalu (8.8, 3.5), who started 26 games as a wing guard last season, is starting on the wing, opposite junior newcomer Xavian Rimmer (8.2, 2.1). The bench has been solid with junior Kevin Brown (6.2, 1.6) providing depth at guard, sophomore Steven Wronkoski (4.9, 2.4) seeing action both on the wing and at small forward and junior J.J. Davenport (3.8, 3.1), who played the last two seasons at New Mexico Junior College, playing at center. Injuries have hurt the Cajuns as Bryant Mbamalu (foot) missed the first 12 games, Elridge Moore (leg) was sidelined for five games and sophomore guard Kasey Shepherd (8.2, 2.4) is out indefinitely. The third unit consists of a trio of freshmen, Hayward Register (3.2) at guard, Luka Kamber (0.5, 1.3) at forward and Vieux Kande (1.1, 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 Friday (Feb. 14). Shawn Long was sixth in double-doubles (13), ninth in total field goals made (179), 10th in rebounds (10.5), 21st in blocks (2.9) and 34th in scoring (19.8). Junior Elfrid Payton was 16th in steals (2.3), 26th in assists (5.8) and 30th in scoring (19.8), owning one of seven triple-doubles in the nation this year. As a team, the Cajuns were 18th in scoring offense (81.3) and 34th in steals (7.9) and three-point field goal defense (.307).

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.

PLAYING FOR THIRD: Two days after moving into fourth place in the Sun Belt standings with a 93-87 double overtime win over UALR, the Cajuns (7-5) will try to move past Arkansas State (7-4) and into third place in the standings with a win today. The Red Wolves however are eyeing second place WKU (9-3).

LONG NAMED SUN BELT & LSWA PLAYER OF THE WEEK. . . AGAIN: For the third time this season, sophomore Shawn Long has been named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week. In addition, Long has also picked up his second Louisiana Sports Writers Player of the Week honor. Long earned the honor after averaging 25.5 points and 10.5 rebounds to lead the Cajuns to road wins at UT Arlington (92-89) and Texas State (67-66) by a total of four points. Long scored a career-high 31 points with eight rebounds in the win over UT Arlington and came back to post a double-double with 20 points and 13 rebounds at Texas State. Long previously picked up SBC accolades on Nov. 12 & 26 and was the LSWA honoree on Dec. 3 for the period covering the first month of the season.

LONG IS 15 AWAY FROM THE 1,000 POINT MARK: A season low seven-point effort against UALR on Thursday has moved Shawn Long within 15 points of becoming the 41st player in school history to score 1,000 points in a career. Long enters the weekend with 985 career points and he would join teammate Elfrid Payton (1,225 points) on the list of 1,000 point scorers. Long would be the fifth sophomore to accomplish the feat, joining Bo Lamar (1,631 points), Andrew Toney (1,269), Kevin Brooks (1,053) and Jerry Flake (1,042).

PLAYING OVERTIME: Thursday night's double overtime win over UALR improved the Cajuns to 2-1 this year in overtime games and 8-5 in extra time in four seasons under head coach Bob Marlin. The three overtime games are the most in a season since Louisiana went 4-1 in OT in 2011-12, Marlin's second season with the Cajuns. The Cajuns are now 31-20 all-time in overtime games and 8-11 in double overtime contests.

CAJUNS RECORD 16TH WIN: The win over UALR on Thursday was the 16th of the season for the Ragin' Cajuns, allowing them to equal the previous highest win total in four seasons under head coach Bob Marlin (16 in 2011-12) and the most by a Louisiana team since the Cajuns went 20-10 in 2002-03.

HAYWARD REGISTERS A CAREER HIGH: With the Cajuns guards in early foul trouble at UT Arlington on Feb. 6, Bob Marlin turned to freshman Hayward Register, who was scoreless in the seven minutes of action in Sun Belt play this year. Register responded by scoring a career-high 17 points -- more than double his previous best of seven points -- going five-for-seven from three-point in 17 minutes. Register came back to score five points at Texas State, all five coming during the Cajuns' second half rally, and six vs UALR.

FINALLY SOME SUCCESS ON THURSDAY: With back-to-back Thursday night wins over UT Arlington (Feb. 6) and UALR (Feb. 13), the Cajuns improved to 2-4 this year when playing on Thursday.

SHOOTING IS THE DIFFERENCE: Thursday night's win over UALR marked the 14th time that the Cajuns have shot better from the field than their opponent in a game this season with Louisiana being a perfect 14-0 in those games. At the other end of the spectrum, the Cajuns are just 2-9 when their opponents shoots a higher percentage from the field. Turnovers have proven to be unimportant this season as Louisiana is 7-4 when committing the same number or more turnovers than its opponent and 8-5 when committing less.

A SHOOTING PERFORMANCE FOR PAYTON: Elfrid Payton was quite efficient against ULM on Feb. 1, going 13-for-14 from the field on his way to scoring a game-high 28 points. The shooting effort was the second-best on the team this year, trailing only the school-record equalling 12-for-12 game by Shawn Long against Centenary. Payton enters the week ranking 10th in the Sun Belt shooting .505 (159-316).

THE GOOD HEALTH LASTED JUST SIX GAMES: 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 healthy lineup lasted just six games as the Cajuns played the UALR contest without reserve guard Kasey Shepherd, who is out indefinitely with a knee injury, and forward Luka Kamber, who missed the game with a concussion. The Cajuns have responded well to adversity, going 3-3 with a healthy lineup and 13-6 when missing one or more players.

. . . AND THE RETURNING STARTING FIVE HASN'T STARTED TOGETHER: Last year, the starting lineup of Elfrid Payton (G0, Bryant Mbamalu (G), Steven Wronkoski (G), Elridge Moore (F) and Shawn Long (F), combined to start 144 games for the Cajuns, including 12 together as the starting five. Despite all five players returning this season and head coach Bob Marlin using 10 different starting units, they have yet to start a game together this year.

DAVENPORT SHINES: With Shawn Long out of the lineup for the UALR game on Jan. 30, junior J.J. Davenport stepped up and turned in the best performance of his Cajuns career. Playing a career-high 27 minutes, Davenport registered his first career double-double, setting additional career highs with 14 points and 11 rebounds. He became the third Cajuns player to register a double-double this season, joining Long (13) and Payton (5).

SCORING OFF THE GLASS: Shawn Long has made the most of his rebounding opportunities this year, scoring 49 baskets off his 87 offensive rebounds this season for an average of 4.3 points a game. Long ranks third in the Sun Belt averaging 3.7 offensive rebounds a game and fourth in scoring (19.8).

PAYTON MOVES UP SCORING CHART: A 23-point effort against UALR on Thursday enabled Elfrid Payton to move past Payton Townsend (1,240 points from 1968-72) and into 26th place on the career scoring list with 1,248 points. Payton became the 40th Cajun to score 1,000 career points in the win over Central Methodist on Dec. 30. Payton, who is averaging 19.8 points, has three career 30-point games and has scored 20 or more points 24 times.

PAYTON HAS SPENT THE SEASON AT THE LINE: With 238 free throw attempts this year, Elfrid Payton enters the weekend ranked third nationally in free throw attempts. Niagara's Antoine Mason leads the country with 282 attempts while Tennessee State's Patrick Miller (244) is second. Payton's 238 attempts is just 35 away from Dean Church's record of 273 attempts set in 1964-65. Payton has shot 580 career free throws, including 133 as a freshman in 2011-12 and 209 in 2012-13. He has attempted eight or more free throws in a game 17 times this season.

100 GAMES FOR MBAMALU: When Bryant Mbamalu started the UT Arlington game on Thursday, he became the 40th player in school history to play in 100 career games. Mbamalu, who played in his 102nd game on Thursday vs. UALR, has scored 909 points (8.9 ppg) with 261 rebounds, 106 assists, 71 steals and 83 three-pointers.

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 weekend with a 407-226 record (.643) 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 59-60 record.

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 13 games. Mbamalu is averaging 8.8 points and 3.5 rebounds, starting the last 11 games. Mbamalu scored a season-high 14 points vs. both Texas State and ULM, and has shot 13-for-36 (.361) 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.

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 30 times this season, surpassing the total for the entire 2012-13 season. Elfrid Payton (14) and Shawn Long (12) lead the way, including five contests in which they both scored 20 points. Xavian Rimmer (3) 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 Shawn Long set a career-high with 31 points at UT Arlington on Thursday (Feb. 6), it marked the fifth time this season that a Ragin' Cajuns player scored 30 or more points in a game. It was the second 30-point effort by Long, who also had 30 points vs. Centenary, while Elfrid Payton owns three of the efforts, scoring 31 points against Houston (Dec. 14), 32 points vs. Oakland (Nov. 23) and 34 at ULM (Jan. 4) while Shawn Long has the other, a 30-point effort vs. Centenary. Last year, the only 30-point game by a Cajun came when Payton scored 32 points against WKU.

NEXT UP: The Cajuns will play their third straight home contest when they entertain Trou on Thursday (Feb. 20) beginning at 7:05 p.m. in the Cajundome. Louisiana then will close the regular season with three of its final four contests on the road.

Cajuns Host Arkansas State With Third Place At Stake

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