University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Saturday, January 18
Troy, Ala.
7:30 p.m.
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
at
Troy
Cajuns Continue SBC Play At Troy On Saturday
1/17/2014 1:54:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Contact: Matt Sullivan
Complete Game Notes (PDF)
Game 18
Louisiana (11-6, 2-2) at Troy (7-10, 2-3)
Date: Saturday, Jan. 18, 2014
Time: 7:30 p.m. CST
Site: Trojan Arena (5,200), Troy, Ala.
Radio: KPEL (1420 AM) & KHXT (107.9 FM) (Jay Walker)
TV: None
Series: Louisiana Leads, 8-5
Last Meeting: Louisiana 76, Troy 66 (2/21/13, Lafayette, La.)
THE COACHES:
LOUISIANA
BOB MARLIN (Mississippi State '81)
At Louisiana: 54-57 (4th year)
4-Year Overall: 279-188 (16th year)
All Collegiate: 402-223 (21st year)
vs. Troy: 3-1
TROY
PHIL CUNNINGHAM (Campbellsville '90)
At Troy: 7-10 (1st year)
Overall: 7-10 (1st year)
vs. Louisiana: 0-0
SETTING THE SCENE: The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns wrap up their first two-game Sun Belt Conference road weekend of the season when they visit Troy on Saturday (Jan. 18) at 7:30 p.m. at Trojan Arena. The Cajuns opened their road trip to the state of Alabama with an 81-73 setback at South Alabama on Thursday. Shawn Long (20.9 ppg) teams with Elfrid Payton (20.1) to give Louisiana the only 20-point scoring duo in the country this year. Under the direction of first-year head coach Phil Cunningham, Troy has opened the year with a 7-10 overall mark, and 2-3 record in Sun Belt Conference play. This will be the 14th meeting on the hardwood between schools with Louisiana holding an 8-5 series lead, including a 76-66 victory in the previous game on Feb. 21, 2013 at the Cajundome.
PREVIEWING LOUISIANA: Louisiana is off to an 11-6 start in 2013-14, benefiting 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 (20.2 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 6.1 apg, 2.5 spg) and forward Shawn Long (20.9 ppg, 10.8 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 (5.4, 3.8) has returned at small forward after missing five games with an ankle injury. Bryant Mbamalu (7.2, 2.0), who started 26 games as a wing guard last season, has returned after missing the first 12 games with a foot injury. With Mbamalu out, junior Kevin Brown (6.9, 1.5) saw increased playing time with Steven Wronkoski (5.8, 2.6) starting on the other wing. The bench has been a source of a good offensive spark as junior Xavian Rimmer (7.1, 2.1) and sophomore Kasey Shepherd (8.6, 2.4) providing the biggest lift at guard with freshman Hayward Register (2.0) also seeing time. Junior J.J. Davenport (3.5, 3.0), who played the last two seasons at New Mexico Junior College, and freshmen Vieux Kande (1.4, 0.9), and Luka Kamber (0.5, 1.3) are the primary reserves inside with both Davenport and Kande playing center and Kamber a forward. 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, Jan. 17. Shawn Long was sixth in field goals made (136), eighth in double-doubles (9), ninth in rebounding (11.0), 17th in scoring (20.9) and 22nd in blocks (2.9). Junior Elfrid Payton was 16th in steals (2.5), 17th in assists (6.1) and 31st in scoring (20.1), owning one of seven triple doubles in the nation this year. As a team, the Cajuns were 13th in scoring offense (84.3) and 32nd in three-point field goal defense (.296).
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 Saturday (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 2-1 playing with all 15 players available.
STREAKING FROM THE LINE: The Cajuns have shown improvement from the foul line since the beginning of Sun Belt Conference play, going 92-for-130 (.708) to improve to .678 for the year (320-for-472). Kasey Shepherd leads the team, making 30-of-32 attempts to shoot .938 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). Xavian Rimmer is shooting .853 from the line (29-for-34), owning a current streak of 21 straight makes going back to the Louisiana Tech game (Dec. 4). Center J.J. Davenport opened the year by making just one of his first four attempts, but has bounced back to make 20 straight. Davenport is shooting .875 (21-24) for the year.
. . . AND PAYTON HAS SPENT THE SEASON AT THE LINE: With 175 free throw attempts this year, Elfrid Payton enters the weekend ranked second nationally in free throw attempts. Niagara's Antoine Mason leads the country with 201 attempts through Thursday while Tennessee State's Patrick Miller (173) and Delaware's Jarvis Threatt (172) are close behind Payton. Payton has shot 516 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 13 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 are each closing in on the scoring plateau and should become the 41st and 42nd Cajuns to accomplish the feat. Long enters the Troy game with 867 career points while Mbamalu has 830 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).
SCORING OFF THE GLASS: Shawn Long has made the most of his rebounding opportunities this year, scoring 38 baskets off his 66 offensive rebounds this season for an average of 4.6 points a game. Long ranks third in the Sun Belt averaging 3.9 offensive rebounds a game and second in scoring (20.9).
20-POINT PARTNERS: Midway through the 2013-14 season, the Cajuns duo of Shawn Long (20.9 ppg) and Elfrid Payton (20.1 ppg) have emerged as the only duo in the country to both average 20 points per game. There are 35 players averaging 20 points or more this year with Long ranking 14th and Payton 32nd. Long leads the team with ten, 20-point efforts this year (19 in his career) with Payton owning nine (19 career). Payton however has the upper hand by producing three 30-point games this year while Long has one.
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)
. . . AND LONG FLIRTS WITH GETTING ONE OF HIS OWN: One game after Elfrid Payton recorded a triple-double, his running mate, Shawn Long, flirted with one of his own. Against UT Arlington on Saturday (Jan. 11), Long totalled 22 points, nine rebounds and a career-high seven blocks, playing just 28 minutes. Long has 26 career double-doubles, but that was the first time he came that close to registering the third part of the feat.
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 Troy game with a 402-223 record (.644) 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 54-57 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 11.3 points over the last 10 games, including 17 or more points five times. He leads the Sun Belt shooting .615 from behind the three-point line (24-for-39) while also shooting .561 from the field (46-for-82) and .938 from the line (30-for-32). 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 .615 from three-point range (23-for-38) while Rimmer is fourth at .472 (25-for-53). With Shepherd and Rimmer leading the way, the Cajuns rank second in the Sun Belt, making 129 of their 345 three-point attempts (.374). 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 9.0 points and 2.0 rebounds in his last three appearances. Mbamalu scored a season-high 14 points vs. Texas State and has shot 8-for-14 (.571) 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 21-point effort against Texas State on Monday (Jan. 13) moved Elfrid Payton past both Blane Harmon (1,060 points from 1998-01) and Randall Daigle (1,075, 2007-11) into 33rd place on the school career scoring chart with 1,076 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 20.1 points, has three career 30-point games and nineteen 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 22 times in the first 16 games this season. Shawn Long (10) and Elfrid Payton (9) 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 17 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 NEARS ASSIST TOP 10: With 104 assists in 17 games this year, Elfrid Payton has moved into 11th place on the Louisiana career assist list. Payton has 382 assists, five shy of tying Andrew Toney (387 from 1977-80) for 10th place on the school's all-time list.
LONG PASSES 100 BLOCK MARK: A six blocked shots effort at ULM on Jan. 4 allowed sophomore Shawn Long to become just the sixth player in program history to block 100 shots in a career. Long's subsequent eight blocks over the two home games over the weekend moved him past Marvin Lancaster (110 blocks from 1987-89) and into fifth place on the career blocked shots chart with 114 blocks. Long had 65 blocks as a freshman, the sixth-highest single season total in school history, and has started his sophomore campaign with 49 blocks in the first 17 games, ranking him ninth on the single season list.
PLAYING OVERTIME: The Jan. 4 ULM game marked the second time in five games that the Cajuns played to overtime this season. The Cajuns previously toppled Houston in OT on Dec. 14 and are now 7-5 in overtime in the four seasons under head coach Bob Marlin. The ULM game was the first double overtime game since Louisiana dropped double overtime decision at Texas Southern (74-71) and vs. South Alabama (91-89) last year.
LONG LIKES TO DOUBLE UP: Sophomore Shawn Long picked right up where he left off last spring, registering double-doubles in eight of the first 16 games to rank 11th nationally. Long has 26 double-doubles in 48 career games. He enters the week leading the SBC in blocked shots (3.1), rebounding (11.0) and defensive rebounding (6.9), ranked second in scoring (21.5), third in offensive rebounds (4.0) and fourth in field goal percentage (.556).
LONG RECORDS QUICK DOUBLE-DOUBLES: After ranking sixth nationally last year with 18 double-doubles, sophomore Shawn Long has started the year with nine double-doubles in the first 17 games, achieving two before halftime. He scored 23 points with 14 rebounds in the season-opening win over Louisiana College. He needed just 18:07 to get his first double-double of the year, grabbing his 10th rebound of the night (to go with 14 points at the time) as part of an 18-point, 11-rebound effort in the first half. Against Northwestern State on Nov. 26, Long had 16 points and 12 rebounds at halftime, accomplishing the double-double with 2:51 to play. He finished with 22 points and 15 rebounds.
. . . AND PAYTON ADDS HIS SIXTH: Elfrid Payton is also getting into the double-double action, recording four already this season (counting his triple-double) including in back-to-back games against Louisiana Tech (Dec. 4) and Louisville (Dec. 7) to give him six career double-doubles. He had 17 points and 10 rebounds at Louisiana Tech and came back to record 12 points and 10 assists against the Cardinals. Payton has been diverse in putting his double-doubles together, owning three point-rebound double-doubles and three with points and assists. Payton registered his first double-double of the year in the season opener, scoring 21 points with 10 assists.
PAYTON NAMED TO WOODEN AWARD PRESEASON TOP 50: Cajuns junior point guard Elfrid Payton earned a big preseason honor on Nov. 12 when he was named to the 2013-14 John R. Wooden Award preseason top 50 list by the Los Angeles Athletic Club. Named after the legendary UCLA head coach, the Wooden Award is the most prestigious individual honor in college basketball. It is bestowed upon the nation's best player at an institution of higher education who has proven to his or her university that he or she is making progress toward graduation.
. . . AND MORE HONORS FOR PAYTON: Being selected to the Wooden Award list is the latest in a long list of preseason awards for Elfrid Payton. Earlier in the fall, Payton was named to the preseason watch list for the Bob Cousy Award, which is presented to the nation's top point guard by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. In addition, Payton was named to the Mid-Major All-America first team by NBCSports.com and to the Lou Henson All-America team, which honors the nation's top mid-major players and is presented by CollegeInsider.com.
WELCOME BACK KEVIN: The Cajuns have benefited from the return of Kevin Brown, who missed most of last season after suffering a foot injury in the eighth game of the year. Brown averaged 4.8 points and shot .421 from three-point (8-21) last year, scoring a career-high 14 points at Michigan State. Since returning, Brown is averaging 6.5 points and 1.5 rebounds a game, scoring six or more points 11 times, including a season-high 11 points against Centenary.
NEXT UP: The Cajuns return home for a pair of games against two of the top teams in the Sun Belt this season. The Cajuns will host league leader Georgia State (Jan. 23) before hosting WKU (Jan. 25) in a 3 p.m. contest that will be televised live on ESPN2.
Complete Game Notes (PDF)
Game 18
Louisiana (11-6, 2-2) at Troy (7-10, 2-3)
Date: Saturday, Jan. 18, 2014
Time: 7:30 p.m. CST
Site: Trojan Arena (5,200), Troy, Ala.
Radio: KPEL (1420 AM) & KHXT (107.9 FM) (Jay Walker)
TV: None
Series: Louisiana Leads, 8-5
Last Meeting: Louisiana 76, Troy 66 (2/21/13, Lafayette, La.)
THE COACHES:
LOUISIANA
BOB MARLIN (Mississippi State '81)
At Louisiana: 54-57 (4th year)
4-Year Overall: 279-188 (16th year)
All Collegiate: 402-223 (21st year)
vs. Troy: 3-1
TROY
PHIL CUNNINGHAM (Campbellsville '90)
At Troy: 7-10 (1st year)
Overall: 7-10 (1st year)
vs. Louisiana: 0-0
SETTING THE SCENE: The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns wrap up their first two-game Sun Belt Conference road weekend of the season when they visit Troy on Saturday (Jan. 18) at 7:30 p.m. at Trojan Arena. The Cajuns opened their road trip to the state of Alabama with an 81-73 setback at South Alabama on Thursday. Shawn Long (20.9 ppg) teams with Elfrid Payton (20.1) to give Louisiana the only 20-point scoring duo in the country this year. Under the direction of first-year head coach Phil Cunningham, Troy has opened the year with a 7-10 overall mark, and 2-3 record in Sun Belt Conference play. This will be the 14th meeting on the hardwood between schools with Louisiana holding an 8-5 series lead, including a 76-66 victory in the previous game on Feb. 21, 2013 at the Cajundome.
PREVIEWING LOUISIANA: Louisiana is off to an 11-6 start in 2013-14, benefiting 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 (20.2 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 6.1 apg, 2.5 spg) and forward Shawn Long (20.9 ppg, 10.8 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 (5.4, 3.8) has returned at small forward after missing five games with an ankle injury. Bryant Mbamalu (7.2, 2.0), who started 26 games as a wing guard last season, has returned after missing the first 12 games with a foot injury. With Mbamalu out, junior Kevin Brown (6.9, 1.5) saw increased playing time with Steven Wronkoski (5.8, 2.6) starting on the other wing. The bench has been a source of a good offensive spark as junior Xavian Rimmer (7.1, 2.1) and sophomore Kasey Shepherd (8.6, 2.4) providing the biggest lift at guard with freshman Hayward Register (2.0) also seeing time. Junior J.J. Davenport (3.5, 3.0), who played the last two seasons at New Mexico Junior College, and freshmen Vieux Kande (1.4, 0.9), and Luka Kamber (0.5, 1.3) are the primary reserves inside with both Davenport and Kande playing center and Kamber a forward. 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, Jan. 17. Shawn Long was sixth in field goals made (136), eighth in double-doubles (9), ninth in rebounding (11.0), 17th in scoring (20.9) and 22nd in blocks (2.9). Junior Elfrid Payton was 16th in steals (2.5), 17th in assists (6.1) and 31st in scoring (20.1), owning one of seven triple doubles in the nation this year. As a team, the Cajuns were 13th in scoring offense (84.3) and 32nd in three-point field goal defense (.296).
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 Saturday (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 2-1 playing with all 15 players available.
STREAKING FROM THE LINE: The Cajuns have shown improvement from the foul line since the beginning of Sun Belt Conference play, going 92-for-130 (.708) to improve to .678 for the year (320-for-472). Kasey Shepherd leads the team, making 30-of-32 attempts to shoot .938 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). Xavian Rimmer is shooting .853 from the line (29-for-34), owning a current streak of 21 straight makes going back to the Louisiana Tech game (Dec. 4). Center J.J. Davenport opened the year by making just one of his first four attempts, but has bounced back to make 20 straight. Davenport is shooting .875 (21-24) for the year.
. . . AND PAYTON HAS SPENT THE SEASON AT THE LINE: With 175 free throw attempts this year, Elfrid Payton enters the weekend ranked second nationally in free throw attempts. Niagara's Antoine Mason leads the country with 201 attempts through Thursday while Tennessee State's Patrick Miller (173) and Delaware's Jarvis Threatt (172) are close behind Payton. Payton has shot 516 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 13 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 are each closing in on the scoring plateau and should become the 41st and 42nd Cajuns to accomplish the feat. Long enters the Troy game with 867 career points while Mbamalu has 830 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).
SCORING OFF THE GLASS: Shawn Long has made the most of his rebounding opportunities this year, scoring 38 baskets off his 66 offensive rebounds this season for an average of 4.6 points a game. Long ranks third in the Sun Belt averaging 3.9 offensive rebounds a game and second in scoring (20.9).
20-POINT PARTNERS: Midway through the 2013-14 season, the Cajuns duo of Shawn Long (20.9 ppg) and Elfrid Payton (20.1 ppg) have emerged as the only duo in the country to both average 20 points per game. There are 35 players averaging 20 points or more this year with Long ranking 14th and Payton 32nd. Long leads the team with ten, 20-point efforts this year (19 in his career) with Payton owning nine (19 career). Payton however has the upper hand by producing three 30-point games this year while Long has one.
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)
. . . AND LONG FLIRTS WITH GETTING ONE OF HIS OWN: One game after Elfrid Payton recorded a triple-double, his running mate, Shawn Long, flirted with one of his own. Against UT Arlington on Saturday (Jan. 11), Long totalled 22 points, nine rebounds and a career-high seven blocks, playing just 28 minutes. Long has 26 career double-doubles, but that was the first time he came that close to registering the third part of the feat.
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 Troy game with a 402-223 record (.644) 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 54-57 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 11.3 points over the last 10 games, including 17 or more points five times. He leads the Sun Belt shooting .615 from behind the three-point line (24-for-39) while also shooting .561 from the field (46-for-82) and .938 from the line (30-for-32). 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 .615 from three-point range (23-for-38) while Rimmer is fourth at .472 (25-for-53). With Shepherd and Rimmer leading the way, the Cajuns rank second in the Sun Belt, making 129 of their 345 three-point attempts (.374). 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 9.0 points and 2.0 rebounds in his last three appearances. Mbamalu scored a season-high 14 points vs. Texas State and has shot 8-for-14 (.571) 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 21-point effort against Texas State on Monday (Jan. 13) moved Elfrid Payton past both Blane Harmon (1,060 points from 1998-01) and Randall Daigle (1,075, 2007-11) into 33rd place on the school career scoring chart with 1,076 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 20.1 points, has three career 30-point games and nineteen 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 22 times in the first 16 games this season. Shawn Long (10) and Elfrid Payton (9) 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 17 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 NEARS ASSIST TOP 10: With 104 assists in 17 games this year, Elfrid Payton has moved into 11th place on the Louisiana career assist list. Payton has 382 assists, five shy of tying Andrew Toney (387 from 1977-80) for 10th place on the school's all-time list.
LONG PASSES 100 BLOCK MARK: A six blocked shots effort at ULM on Jan. 4 allowed sophomore Shawn Long to become just the sixth player in program history to block 100 shots in a career. Long's subsequent eight blocks over the two home games over the weekend moved him past Marvin Lancaster (110 blocks from 1987-89) and into fifth place on the career blocked shots chart with 114 blocks. Long had 65 blocks as a freshman, the sixth-highest single season total in school history, and has started his sophomore campaign with 49 blocks in the first 17 games, ranking him ninth on the single season list.
PLAYING OVERTIME: The Jan. 4 ULM game marked the second time in five games that the Cajuns played to overtime this season. The Cajuns previously toppled Houston in OT on Dec. 14 and are now 7-5 in overtime in the four seasons under head coach Bob Marlin. The ULM game was the first double overtime game since Louisiana dropped double overtime decision at Texas Southern (74-71) and vs. South Alabama (91-89) last year.
LONG LIKES TO DOUBLE UP: Sophomore Shawn Long picked right up where he left off last spring, registering double-doubles in eight of the first 16 games to rank 11th nationally. Long has 26 double-doubles in 48 career games. He enters the week leading the SBC in blocked shots (3.1), rebounding (11.0) and defensive rebounding (6.9), ranked second in scoring (21.5), third in offensive rebounds (4.0) and fourth in field goal percentage (.556).
LONG RECORDS QUICK DOUBLE-DOUBLES: After ranking sixth nationally last year with 18 double-doubles, sophomore Shawn Long has started the year with nine double-doubles in the first 17 games, achieving two before halftime. He scored 23 points with 14 rebounds in the season-opening win over Louisiana College. He needed just 18:07 to get his first double-double of the year, grabbing his 10th rebound of the night (to go with 14 points at the time) as part of an 18-point, 11-rebound effort in the first half. Against Northwestern State on Nov. 26, Long had 16 points and 12 rebounds at halftime, accomplishing the double-double with 2:51 to play. He finished with 22 points and 15 rebounds.
. . . AND PAYTON ADDS HIS SIXTH: Elfrid Payton is also getting into the double-double action, recording four already this season (counting his triple-double) including in back-to-back games against Louisiana Tech (Dec. 4) and Louisville (Dec. 7) to give him six career double-doubles. He had 17 points and 10 rebounds at Louisiana Tech and came back to record 12 points and 10 assists against the Cardinals. Payton has been diverse in putting his double-doubles together, owning three point-rebound double-doubles and three with points and assists. Payton registered his first double-double of the year in the season opener, scoring 21 points with 10 assists.
PAYTON NAMED TO WOODEN AWARD PRESEASON TOP 50: Cajuns junior point guard Elfrid Payton earned a big preseason honor on Nov. 12 when he was named to the 2013-14 John R. Wooden Award preseason top 50 list by the Los Angeles Athletic Club. Named after the legendary UCLA head coach, the Wooden Award is the most prestigious individual honor in college basketball. It is bestowed upon the nation's best player at an institution of higher education who has proven to his or her university that he or she is making progress toward graduation.
. . . AND MORE HONORS FOR PAYTON: Being selected to the Wooden Award list is the latest in a long list of preseason awards for Elfrid Payton. Earlier in the fall, Payton was named to the preseason watch list for the Bob Cousy Award, which is presented to the nation's top point guard by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. In addition, Payton was named to the Mid-Major All-America first team by NBCSports.com and to the Lou Henson All-America team, which honors the nation's top mid-major players and is presented by CollegeInsider.com.
WELCOME BACK KEVIN: The Cajuns have benefited from the return of Kevin Brown, who missed most of last season after suffering a foot injury in the eighth game of the year. Brown averaged 4.8 points and shot .421 from three-point (8-21) last year, scoring a career-high 14 points at Michigan State. Since returning, Brown is averaging 6.5 points and 1.5 rebounds a game, scoring six or more points 11 times, including a season-high 11 points against Centenary.
NEXT UP: The Cajuns return home for a pair of games against two of the top teams in the Sun Belt this season. The Cajuns will host league leader Georgia State (Jan. 23) before hosting WKU (Jan. 25) in a 3 p.m. contest that will be televised live on ESPN2.
Quannas White Media Availability (Nov 28, 2025)
Saturday, November 29
Quannas White Media Availability (Nov 11, 2025)
Wednesday, November 12
De'Vion Lavergne and Milan Mejia Media Availability (Nov 11, 2025)
Wednesday, November 12
Quannas White Media Availability (Nov 10, 2025)
Monday, November 10
