University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics

Saturday, January 16
Atlanta, Ga.
1:30 p.m. (CST)

Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns

7-8, 3-3SBC

87
at
54

Georgia State

11-4, 4-2SBC

1
2
F
Louisiana
35
52
87
Georgia State
31
23
54
Shawn Long

Cajuns Dominate In 87-54 Win At Georgia State

1/16/2016 4:01:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Long's 23-point, 18-rebound performance helps Cajuns to first win in Atlanta

ATLANTA – Shawn Long scored 19 of his team-high 23 points in the second half and grabbed a game-high 18 rebounds to lead three players in double figures and help the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns to a dominating 87-54 win over Georgia State in a Sun Belt Conference men's basketball game Saturday afternoon at the GSU Sports Arena.
 
Kasey Shepherd added 19 points and Hayward Register a season-high 15 as Louisiana (7-8, 3-3 SBC) won its second straight game and picked up its first win over GSU (11-4, 4-2 SBC) in Atlanta. The Ragin' Cajuns trailed by eight points in the first half against the Panthers, who were fifth in the nation in scoring defense (59.9 ppg.), before taking a 35-31 lead at halftime.
 
"We got to a pretty good start, but fell behind 18-10 and called timeout because I didn't like the way the game was starting," head coach Bob Marlin said. "From that point on, we dug in and played really good to end the half and we talked about coming out and being the best second-half team."
 
Long finished 9-for-12 from the floor in the game as Louisiana outscored Georgia State, 52-23, in the second half and held the Panthers to 20-for-43 (46.5 percent) from the floor.
 
Georgia State trailed 42-38 when Isaiah Dennis scored on a layup with 17:22 remaining, but that would be as close as the Panthers would get as Louisiana went on a 30-7 run to take a 72-45 lead. Long scored five straight points for the Ragin' Cajuns to open the run as he scored on a three-point play and added a pair of free throws.
 
Shepherd, who finished 5-for-14 from the floor, drilled a 3-pointer that gave Louisiana a 52-40 lead before scoring five straight points, including another 3-pointer for a 59-42 lead with 11:50 left.
 
Register, who went 4-for-7 from behind the 3-point line, buried consecutive 3-pointers that pushed the Ragin' Cajuns lead to 67-45 before five straight points by Long gave Louisiana a 72-45 lead with 6:59 left.
 
Louisiana finished 29-for-59 (49.2 percent) from the floor and 11-for-27 (40.7 percent) from behind the 3-point line. The Ragin' Cajuns held a 38-21 advantage on the glass and forced 12 turnovers.
 
Kevin Ware led GSU with 19 points while Jeremy Hollowell added 14. The Panthers shot 12-for-22 (54.5 percent) from the floor in the opening half before the Ragin' Cajuns defense held GSU to 8-for-21 (38.1 percent) in the second half and 20-for-43 (46.5 percent) for the game.
 
Louisiana will return to action on Thursday when it hosts South Alabama at the Cajundome. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:15 p.m.
 
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