Cajuns Close Pre-Holiday Slate At Jackson State on Thursday

Contact: Brian McCann

Complete Game Notes (PDF)

Game 12
Louisiana (8-3) at Jackson State (3-7)
Date: Thursday, Dec. 19, 2013
Time: 7:30 p.m. CST
Site: Lee E. Williams AAC (8,000), Jackson, Miss.
Radio: KHXT (107.9 FM) (Steve Peloquin)
TV: None
Series: Louisiana Leads, 2-1
Last Meeting: Jackson State 92, Louisiana 90 (12/30/92, Honolulu, Hawaii)

THE COACHES:
LOUISIANA
BOB MARLIN (Mississippi State '81)
At Louisiana: 51-54 (4th year)
4-Year Overall: 276-185 (16th year)
All Collegiate: 399-220 (21st year)
vs. Jackson State: 0-0

JACKSON STATE
WAYNE BRENT (ULM '89)
At Jackson State: 3-7 (1st year)
Overall: 3-7 (1st year)
vs. Louisiana: 0-0

SETTING THE SCENE: The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns take to the road for the final time in 2013 when they travel to Jackson, Miss. to face Jackson State on Thursday, Dec. 19 beginning at 7:30 p.m. in Lee E. Williams AAC. The Cajuns used a 103-69 win over Centenary on Tuesday night (Dec. 17) to improve to 8-3 for the first time since the 1993-94 team started the year with a 9-2 record. Louisiana has been led by the duo of Shawn Long (21.6 ppg) and Elfrid Payton (19.7). two of the top three scorers in the Sun Belt. This will be just the fourth all-time meeting between Louisiana and Jackson State, and the first played in Jackson. The Tigers are 3-7, but have played a difficult schedule that includes road losses at Colorado, Wyoming, Mississippi State and Tulane and home losses to Arkansas State and Louisiana Tech.

PREVIEWING LOUISIANA: Louisiana is off to a 8-3 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 are on a path to return to national prominence. The team is centered around the duo of point guard Elfrid Payton (19.7 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 5.6 apg, 2.3 spg) and forward Shawn Long (21.6 ppg, 10.6 rpg, 2.7 bpg), both of whom were named to the preseason All-Sun Belt first team this year. Long plays mostly at center with Elridge Moore (6.6, 4.9) normally starting as an under-sized forward but is sidelined currently with an ankle injury. Bryant Mbamalu (13.8, 3.7 in 2012-13), who started 26 games as a wing guard last season, is also out indefinitely with a foot injury in September. With Mbamalu out, junior Kevin Brown (6.6, 1.5), who is returning after missing most of last season with an injury, has taken over with Steven Wronkoski (6.2, 2.7) starting on the other wing. The bench has been a source of a good offensive spark as junior Xavian Rimmer (6.7, 2.0) and sophomore Kasey Shepherd (9.2, 2.5) providing the biggest lift at guard with freshman Hayward Register (2.3) also seeing time. Junior J.J. Davenport (2.9, 3.0), who played the last two seasons at New Mexico Junior College, and freshmen Vieux Kande (1.3, 1.0), and Luka Kamber (0.4, 1.2) 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 Monday (Dec. 16). Shawn Long was fifth in double-doubles (6), sixth in rebounding (11.0), 26th in scoring (20.8) and 30th in blocks (2.8). Junior Elfrid Payton was 34th in scoring (20.3), 33rd in steals (2.3), and 37th in assists (5.5). As a team, the Cajuns were 30th in scoring offense (82.8) and 48th in three-point field goal defense (.290).

$5 TICKET OFFER FOR CENTRAL METHODIST: Cajuns fans who wish to attend the Dec. 30 home game against Central Methodist will be able to take advantage of a special $5 seat offer for that game. The special applies to third level seats and in the corners on the second level.

CAJUNS BREAK INTO MID-MAJOR TOP 25: An 8-3 start has propelled the Cajuns into the Mid-Major Top 25 for the first time, ranking 23rd in the weekly poll that is sponsored by Collegeinsider.com. After receiving votes last week, the Louisiana received 72 points this week to place 23rd and tops among Sun Belt programs. Wichita State is ranked first with 774 points and 30 of the 31 first place votes.

MARLIN EYES 400TH VICTORY: Tuesday's win over Centenary has moved fourth-year Ragin' Cajuns head coach Bob Marlin one win away from his 400th as a head coach at the collegiate level. Marlin enters the Jackson state game with a 399-220 record (.645) 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 Saturday (Dec. 14) and carries a 51-54 record into the Jackson State game.

PAYTON NEEDS 30 TO REACH THE 1,000 POINT MARK: A 15-point effort against Centenary on Tuesday has raised Elfrid Payton's career scoring total to 970 points, leaving him 30 points shy of becoming the 40th player in school history to score 1,000 points in a career. Payton is averaging 19.7 points this season with two 30-point games.

. . . AND PICKS UP LSWA HONOR: A 31-point explosion against Houston last week helped junior guard Elfrid Payton to pick up the Louisiana Player of the Week award from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association. Payton was 10-for-19 from the field and 11-for-19 from the line with five rebounds and five assists.

CAJUNS CHASE RECORD HEADING INTO NEW YEAR: With an 8-3 record and two games left to play before the new year, the Cajuns are within reach of the school record of nine wins before the new year, which was set in both 1982-83 and 1990-91.

SHOOTING RECORDS FALL: The win over Centenary on Tuesday featured a pair of impressive shooting performances. Shawn Long tied the school record for field goal percentage in a game by making all 12 of his field goal attempts. He equalled the record set by both Todd Hill (10-for 10 vs. McNeese State on 2/27/92) and Chris Manuel (10-for-10 vs. Lamar on 2/19/98). Sophomore guard Kasey Shepherd made all five of his three-point attempts to break the school record for three-point percentage in game, formerly held b Aaron Mitch (5-6, .833 vs. Bellhaven on 11/27/87) and Randell Daigle (5-6, .833 vs. FIU, 2/4/10).

PLAYING OVERTIME: The win over Houston on Saturday (Dec. 14) was the first overtime game of the season for the Cajuns and improved the to 7-4 in the four seasons under head coach Bob Marlin. Last year, Louisiana dropped double overtime decisions at Texas Southern (74-71) and vs. South Alabama (91-89).

SCORING OFF THE GLASS: Shawn Long has made the most of his rebounding opportunities this year, scoring 30 baskets off his 44 offensive rebounds this season or an average of 5.5 points a game. Long ranks third in the Sun Belt averaging 4.0 offensive rebounds a game and second in scoring (21.6).

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 16 times in the first 11 games this season. Shawn Long (7) and Elfrid Payton (6) 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 Shawn Long set a career-high with 30 points against Centenary, it marked the third time this season that Ragin' Cajuns player scored 30 or more points in a game. Elfrid Payton owns the other two games, scoring 31 points against Houston (Dec. 14) and a career-high 32 points in the win over Oakland (Nov. 23). Last year, Payton scored 32 points against Western Kentucky for the only 30-point game by a Cajun.

PAYTON NEARS ASSIST TOP 10: With 62 assists in 11 games this year, Elfrid Payton has moved into 12th place on the Louisiana career assist list. Payton has 340 assists, and needs 31 assists to catch 11th place Michael Allen (371 assists from 1992-94) and 48 to pass 10th place Andrew Toney (387 from 1977-80).

SHEPHERD IS HEATING UP: Sophomore guard Kasey Shepherd is in a zone, averaging 17.0 points and 4.6 rebounds over the last five games. Shepherd averaged just 2.7 points in his first six contests before scoring 17 points with six rebounds against Northwestern State on Nov. 27. He came back on Dec. 4 to score a career-high 22 points with six rebounds at Louisiana Tech, add 18 points with five rebounds at Louisville on Dec. 7 and 19 vs. Centenary. Over the last five games, Shepherd is shooting .700 (28-40) from the field, .667 from three-point (14-21) and a perfect 15-for-15 from the foul line to raise his scoring average to 9.2 points per game. He leads the Sun Belt, shooting .667 three-point (18-27).

LONG RECORDS QUICK DOUBLE-DOUBLES: After ranking sixth nationally last year with 18 double-doubles, sophomore Shawn Long has started the year with six double-doubles in the first 10 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. Long did not have a double-double by halftime during the 2012-13 season.

. . . AND PAYTON ADDS HIS SIXTH: Elfrid Payton is also getting into the double-double action, recording three already this season including in back-to-back games against Louisiana Tech and Louisville last week 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 a career-high matching 10 assists.

LONG STARTS YEAR ON A ROLL: Sophomore Shawn Long picked right up where he left off last spring, registering double-doubles in six of the first 11 games to rank sixth nationally. He enters the Jackson State game leading the Sun Belt in both rebounding (10.6) and defensive rebounding (6.6), ranked second in scoring (21.6) and blocks (2.7), third in offensive rebounds (4.0) and eighth in field goal percentage (.589).

JERRY FLAKE HONORED: Jerry Flake was feted over the weekend when his No. 20 was raised to the Cajundome rafters at halftime of the Houston game. Over four decades after completing his career, Flake still ranks fifth in school history with 2,058 career points, averaging 19.2 points a game over the course of his career. Flake's number 20 becomes the fifth retired jersey, joining Dwight "Bo" Lamar's No. 10, the No. 14 worn by Marvin Winkler, Andrew Toney's No. 24 and the No. 12 worn by Dean Church, which was retired in February, 2012.

LONG NAMED TOURNAMENT MVP: Sophomore forward Shawn Long was tabbed as the most valuable player of the EA Sports Maui on the Mainland after averaging 21.0 points, 12.0 rebounds and 4.0 blocks in the two games, shooting .667 from the field (14-for-21) and .600 from three-point (3-for-5). He scored 24 points with a career-high matching 17 rebounds and five blocks in the opening round comeback win over Oakland and came back to score all 18 of his points in the second half in the title game vs. Coastal Carolina.

. . . AND LONG RECEIVES FIRST LSWA HONOR: Shawn Long's strong start to his sophomore year has also led to him earning the first player of the week award of the year rom the Louisiana Sports Writers Association on Dec. 3. The award covered the first month of the season, during which Long averaged 20.6 points, 11.6 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game in helping the Cajuns to a 5-2 record and the team championship at the EA Sports Maui on the Mainland Classic.

. . . AND LONG EARNS SECOND SUN BELT HONOR: It took Shawn Long just three weeks to garner a pair of Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week awards. Long earned the honor on Nov. 12 after scoring 23 points with 14 rebounds and four blocks in the season opener against Louisiana College. He came back on Nov. 26 to pick up the award again after being named the MVP of the EA Sports Maui on the Mainland.

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.

CAJUNS SNAP ROAD STREAK: The win at Coastal Carolina on Nov, 24 snapped a 19-game road losing streak against non-conference opponents that dated back to the end of the 2009-10 season. The win did not come easy as the basketball gods toyed with the Cajuns, nearly allowing Coastal Carolina to rally back from 15 points down with 5:13 left before Louisiana escaped with a 73-69 win. The Cajuns did that streak one better by winning at Louisiana Tech on Dec. 4, before having their modest two-game win streak snapped at Louisville.

RAGIN' CAJUNS START THE NEXT 100 SEASONS: The Ragin' Cajuns have begun their 101st season of basketball. The first season was in 1911-12 when the Cajuns posted a 4-1 record. Louisiana has gone on to win 20 or more games 21 times since, entering the Houston game with a 1,317-1,008 overall record. Louisiana did not have a team in either 1973-74 or 1974-75 because of NCAA sanctions. In the first 100 seasons, the Cajuns have advanced to postseason play 18 times, including 10 NCAA Tournament appearances, winning 16 conference titles. Eight Louisiana players have earned All-America honors with 96 being named all-conference.

WELCOME BACK KEVIN: The Louisiana College game marked the return to the court for 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. In 11 games, Brown is averaging 6.6 points and 1.5 rebounds a game, scoring six or more points seven times, including a season-high 11 points against Centenary.

PAYTON OPENS SEASON WTTH HOT HAND: Elfrid Payton started his junior campaign off on the right foot, scoring 20 points or more in each of the first five games before tallying just 13 on Nov. 24 vs. Coastal Carolina. Payton had 21 points in the opener vs. Louisiana College, 22 vs. McNeese State, 27 at Arkansas, 20 at Baylor and a career-high 32 vs.Oakland. He is second on the team and ranks fourth in the Sun Belt averaging 19.9 points a game. Payton is the first Cajuns player to score 20 points or more in five straight games since Michael Allen scored 20 points or more in 12 straight games early in the 1993-94 season.

PAYTON IS ON PACE FOR ANOTHER 15, 5, 5 & 2: Elfrid Payton was the only player in Division I last year to average 15 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals a game last year and he has done it again through six games this season. Payton enters the week averaging 19.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 2.3 steals a game. Last year, he averaged 15.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.5 steals.

SIX GAMES TO BE TELEVISED: The Ragin' Cajuns will garner a little more attention nationally this year as six games will be televised during the regular season. The Nov. 12 game McNeese State vs. was televised throughout Louisiana by the Ragin' Cajuns Network. The Sun Belt Network will pick up home games vs. Texas State (Jan. 13) and South Alabama (March 2) and the road meeting with Georgia State (Feb. 22). The Nov. 17 contest at Baylor was featured on Fox Sports Southwest while the Dec. 7 game at defending national champion Louisville will be shown on ESPN3. In addition, the home games vs. WKU (Jan. 25) and Arkansas State (Feb. 15) could both be picked up by one of the ESPN channels.

MOORE LIKES OPENERS: Elridge Moore must love season openers. After all, the senior forward had scored in double figures just four times in his first season with the Cajuns. Last November, Moore went six-for-seven from the floor en route to setting career highs for points (15) and steals (5) in the season-opening win over Oakland. In the 2013-14 opener vs. Louisiana College, Moore scored seven of his 11 points in the second half, going four-for-five from the field and making all three free throws. Last year, Moore went on to average 4.8 points and 3.7 rebounds a game, finishing second on the team with 33 steals and 51 assists and third with 17 blocks.

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. It was the fifth time in six semesters that the team had a GPA of better than 2.50, which had never been done before. The last five semesters account for four of the top seven terms for the basketball team during that time.

HOW ELFRID SPENT HIS SUMMER: Elfrid Payton had quite a summer, traveling more than 40,000 miles to play 20 basketball games in three different countries as part of three different teams. The journey started with an eight-game, 18-day (May 11-28) tour of the Far East and China with Reach USA, during which he averaged 21.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 3.0 steals a game in helping Reach USA to a 4-2-1 record. After returning to the states, Payton headed to Colorado Springs, Colo. where he not only earned a spot on the USA Basketball U19 team for the FIBA World Championship (June 26-July 7) in Prague, Czech Republic, but a starting spot as well. Payton helped lead Team USA to a 9-0 record and the gold medal. One month later, Payton travelled with his Cajuns teammates to Spain, winning all four games during a goodwill tour.

. . . ALL BECAUSE OF A PASSPORT & CHRIS PAUL SAID NO: Elfrid Payton's emergence over the summer all happened because he was both denied admission to the Chris Paul Elite Gaurd Camp and went on a goodwill tour to China. With Payton playing in China and the Cajuns coaching staff trying in vane to get him an invite to the Paul camp, the coaches changed the focus to Team USA, which was interested in Louisiana's rising junior. When Bob Marlin spoke with Team USA head coach Billy Donovan, Donovan noted that Payton could only attend the tryout if he already had a passport, which he had obtained in the weeks before leaving for China. Payton and his passport, traveled to Colorado Springs for the tryout camp, and the rest is history.

LONG & PAYTON NAMED TO ALL-SBC SQUAD: Junior guard Elfrid Payton and sophomore forward Shawn Long were rewarded for their hard work when the duo were two of five players named to the 2013-14 Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference first team in a balloting conducted of the league's head coaches. South Alabama's Augustin Rubit, the only senior on the first team, earned preseason player of the year honors, while Georgia State's R.J. Hunter and WKU's T.J. Price were the other first team honorees. Payton averaged 15.9 points and 5.6 rebounds last year, leading the league in both assists (181) and steals (80). Long, the reigning SBC Freshman of the Year, averaged 15.5 points and 10.2 rebounds, leading all freshman nationally in rebounding.

GRIDER ENTERS HALL OF FAME: Cajun basketball alumnus Sydney Grider (1988-90) was one of four Louisiana athletic alumni to be inducted into the Louisiana Athletic Hall of Fame. Grider was joined by baseball standout Gene Bacque (1956-57), softball star Lynn Britton (1993-96) and football star Andy Martin (1979-82), bringing the number of Ragin' Cajuns alumni to 142. Grider, the most effective three-point shooter in school history, earned back-to-back first-team All-American South Conference honors as a junior and senior, averaging 23.5 points as a junior and leading the American South as a senior with a 25.5 average. In that senior year he hit 131-of-321 three-point tries, setting Cajun school records in both categories.

CAJUNS SIGN THREE: The Louisiana coaching staff was busy this week, signing three players to national letters of intent during the early signing period. Signing with the Cajuns were:

Scott Plaisance (6-9, 210, F, New Orleans, La./Country Day): Was named the Louisiana Class 1A Player of the Year after averaging 15.8 points, 10.3 rebounds and 4.1 blocks per game and leading Country Day to a 26-11 record and the state title. Plaisance is rated the No. 6 player in Louisiana on the latest Times-Picayune Super 16.

Bryce Washington (6-6, 230, F, New Orleans, La./St. Augustine): Earned first team all-district 10-4A honors last year after averaging 13.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game, helping lead his team to a 25-10 record. Ranked No. 13 on the Times-Picayune list of top players in Louisiana.

Johnathan Stove (6-4, 215, G-F, Baton Rouge, La./Christian Life Academy): First team all-state choice after averaging 19.8 points as a junior. He was named to both the state Class A team and to the 11-man all-classes team by the Louisiana High School Basketball Coaches Association. A five-year regular, he played on state championship teams in both 8th & 10th grades and helped squad to a 27-6 record and the state semi-finals as a junior.

NEXT UP: The Cajuns will then be off until returning home on Dec. 30 to close the non-conference schedule against Central Methodist beginning at 7:05 p.m. in the Cajundome.

Cajuns Close Pre-Holiday Slate At Jackson State on Thursday

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