University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Thursday, January 28
Lafayette
7:15 p.m.
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
10-8, 6-3SBC
80
vs
54
Texas State
9-8, 3-5SBC
1
2
F
Texas State
21
33
54
Louisiana
35
45
80
Team Stats
TXST
UL
FG%
.380
.519
3FG%
.231
.368
FT%
.722
.792
RB
18
44
TO
10
15
STL
8
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
19
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
16
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
8
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
Long's Double-Double Helps Cajuns Overpower Bobcats
1/28/2016 11:27:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Walker is perfect from floor as Louisiana wins fifth straight
LAFAYETTE – Shawn Long recorded the 65th double-double of his career as he posted game-highs with 19 points and 14 rebounds, and the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team shot 59 percent in the first half as it led from wire-to-wire in an 80-54 Sun Belt Conference on Thursday at the Cajundome.
Devonta Walker scored 16 points as Louisiana (10-8, 6-3 SBC) won its fifth straight game and moved into a tie for second-place with Arkansas State in the Sun Belt Conference standings. Jay Wright tied a season-high with 14 points while grabbing eight rebounds and dishing out seven assists as the Ragin' Cajuns built a 35-21 lead in the first half and never looked back.
"We began the game with some foul issues on both teams early in the first half that altered some of the guys minutes and the way they were able to contribute to the game," head coach Bob Marlin said. "We got some good play early and had a small lead … we had an opportunity to extend the lead, but we turned the ball over a few times trying to backdoor their (Texas State) pressure. It was the right thing to do, but we didn't execute it."
The Ragin' Cajuns opened up the game against Texas State (9-8, 3-5 SBC) with a 7-2 run as Wright drilled a 3-pointer on the first possession of the game before Steven Wronkoski and Long followed with a pair of buckets.
Texas State trimmed the lead to 13-10 when Kavin Gilder-Tilbury scored on a layup with 11:10 remaining in the first half, but the Cajuns would use a 10-3 run that was capped by Long's three-point play for a 23-13 lead at the 7:06 mark.
Walker, who had scored a total of 11 points in the Ragin' Cajuns previous four games, scored 10 points in the first half before finishing perfect from the floor (4-for-4) and the free throw line (8-for-8). His bucket at the 10:58 mark of the first half opened the run for Louisiana before scoring at the 5:32 mark on a jumper and adding six points in the final 1:31 of the first half helped the Ragin' Cajuns to their biggest lead of the half (35-21) heading into the locker room.
"Devonta was very good," Marlin said. "He didn't miss a shot from the field or the (free throw) line and he made some good hustle plays. He followed up some shots and got 16 points in 17 minutes … that's pretty good."
Louisiana, which improved to 8-0 at home this season and have won 11 straight games at the Cajundome dating back to last season, finished 13-for-22 (59.1 percent) from the floor in the first half while holding the Bobcats to 8-for-26 (30.8 percent) aim. Long, the NCAA active leader in double-doubles and total rebounds (1,264), picked up his 13th double-double of the season in the first half before finishing 7-for-11 from the floor with a blocked shot and a steal.
A 3-pointer by Wronkoski, who moved into a tie with Marcus Stokes for fifth-place in games played (120) in Ragin' Cajuns history, pushed the lead to 46-29 before the Bobcats chipped away at the lead.
Gilder-Tilbury connected on a 3-pointer for Texas State and K.J. Malveau sank a pair of free throws that cut the deficit to 48-40 with 10:23 remaining in the game, but an 18-6 run by the Ragin' Cajuns put the game away.
Wright, who tied his career-best with four 3-pointers set last season, began the stretch with a 3-pointer, before a free throw by Long and Hedgeman, along with a 3-pointer by Kasey Shepherd gave Louisiana a 56-40 lead. Walker followed with a bucket and a pair of free throws before Wright connected on back-to-back 3-pointers, including a banked shot off the glass with the shot clock winding down that gave the Ragin' Cajuns a 66-46 lead.
The Ragin' Cajuns built their lead to 78-51 on a tough jumper by Scott Plaisance before taking their biggest lead of the night, 80-51, when dual-sport athlete Elijah McGuire put back a missed shot from Tiremone Williams for his first collegiate points with 48 seconds left.
Louisiana finished 27-for-52 (51.9 percent) from the floor against the Bobcats while going 7-for-19 (36.8 percent) from the 3-point line and 19-for-24 (79.2 percent) from the free throw line.
Texas State, which was led by Ojai Black's 14 points, finished 19-for-50 (38.0 percent) from the floor and 3-for-13 (23.1 percent) from long range. Gilder-Tilbury finished with 13 points for the Bobcats with Emani Gant, the team's leading scorer (13.6), and long-range specialist Ethan Montalvo (11.5 ppg.) scoring a combined nine points on 4 of 14 shooting.
Louisiana will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 30, when it plays host to UT Arlington (14-5, 5-3 SBC) at the Cajundome. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:15 p.m.
Devonta Walker scored 16 points as Louisiana (10-8, 6-3 SBC) won its fifth straight game and moved into a tie for second-place with Arkansas State in the Sun Belt Conference standings. Jay Wright tied a season-high with 14 points while grabbing eight rebounds and dishing out seven assists as the Ragin' Cajuns built a 35-21 lead in the first half and never looked back.
"We began the game with some foul issues on both teams early in the first half that altered some of the guys minutes and the way they were able to contribute to the game," head coach Bob Marlin said. "We got some good play early and had a small lead … we had an opportunity to extend the lead, but we turned the ball over a few times trying to backdoor their (Texas State) pressure. It was the right thing to do, but we didn't execute it."
The Ragin' Cajuns opened up the game against Texas State (9-8, 3-5 SBC) with a 7-2 run as Wright drilled a 3-pointer on the first possession of the game before Steven Wronkoski and Long followed with a pair of buckets.
Texas State trimmed the lead to 13-10 when Kavin Gilder-Tilbury scored on a layup with 11:10 remaining in the first half, but the Cajuns would use a 10-3 run that was capped by Long's three-point play for a 23-13 lead at the 7:06 mark.
Walker, who had scored a total of 11 points in the Ragin' Cajuns previous four games, scored 10 points in the first half before finishing perfect from the floor (4-for-4) and the free throw line (8-for-8). His bucket at the 10:58 mark of the first half opened the run for Louisiana before scoring at the 5:32 mark on a jumper and adding six points in the final 1:31 of the first half helped the Ragin' Cajuns to their biggest lead of the half (35-21) heading into the locker room.
"Devonta was very good," Marlin said. "He didn't miss a shot from the field or the (free throw) line and he made some good hustle plays. He followed up some shots and got 16 points in 17 minutes … that's pretty good."
Louisiana, which improved to 8-0 at home this season and have won 11 straight games at the Cajundome dating back to last season, finished 13-for-22 (59.1 percent) from the floor in the first half while holding the Bobcats to 8-for-26 (30.8 percent) aim. Long, the NCAA active leader in double-doubles and total rebounds (1,264), picked up his 13th double-double of the season in the first half before finishing 7-for-11 from the floor with a blocked shot and a steal.
A 3-pointer by Wronkoski, who moved into a tie with Marcus Stokes for fifth-place in games played (120) in Ragin' Cajuns history, pushed the lead to 46-29 before the Bobcats chipped away at the lead.
Gilder-Tilbury connected on a 3-pointer for Texas State and K.J. Malveau sank a pair of free throws that cut the deficit to 48-40 with 10:23 remaining in the game, but an 18-6 run by the Ragin' Cajuns put the game away.
Wright, who tied his career-best with four 3-pointers set last season, began the stretch with a 3-pointer, before a free throw by Long and Hedgeman, along with a 3-pointer by Kasey Shepherd gave Louisiana a 56-40 lead. Walker followed with a bucket and a pair of free throws before Wright connected on back-to-back 3-pointers, including a banked shot off the glass with the shot clock winding down that gave the Ragin' Cajuns a 66-46 lead.
The Ragin' Cajuns built their lead to 78-51 on a tough jumper by Scott Plaisance before taking their biggest lead of the night, 80-51, when dual-sport athlete Elijah McGuire put back a missed shot from Tiremone Williams for his first collegiate points with 48 seconds left.
Louisiana finished 27-for-52 (51.9 percent) from the floor against the Bobcats while going 7-for-19 (36.8 percent) from the 3-point line and 19-for-24 (79.2 percent) from the free throw line.
Texas State, which was led by Ojai Black's 14 points, finished 19-for-50 (38.0 percent) from the floor and 3-for-13 (23.1 percent) from long range. Gilder-Tilbury finished with 13 points for the Bobcats with Emani Gant, the team's leading scorer (13.6), and long-range specialist Ethan Montalvo (11.5 ppg.) scoring a combined nine points on 4 of 14 shooting.
Louisiana will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 30, when it plays host to UT Arlington (14-5, 5-3 SBC) at the Cajundome. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:15 p.m.
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