University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics

Louisiana Heads To Little Rock For Thursday Meeting With UALR
2/25/2013 3:19:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Contact: Brian McCann
Complete Release (PDF)
Game 30
Louisiana (11-18, 7-11) at UALR (15-14, 9-9)
Date: Thursday, Feb. 28, 2013
Time: 7:30 p.m. CST
Site: Jack Stephens Center (5,600), Little Rock, Ark.
Radio: KPEL (1420 AM) & KHXT (107.9 FM) (Jay Walker)
TV: None Live, Streaming available on the internet via UALRTrojans.com.
Series: Louisiana Leads, 22-16
Last Meeting: Louisiana 79, UALR 70 (12/29/12, Lafayette, La.)
THE COACHES:
LOUISIANA
BOB MARLIN (Mississippi State '81)
At Louisiana: 41-49 (3rd year)
4-Year Overall: 266-180 (15th year)
All Collegiate: 389-215 (20th year)
vs. UALR: 3-2
UALR
STEVE SHIELDS (Baylor '88)
At UALR: 162-142 (10th year)
Overall: 162-142 (10th year)
vs. Louisiana: 9-6
SETTING THE SCENE: With two games left in the regular season, the Ragin' Cajuns basketball team takes to the road in hopes of improving their seed for the upcoming Sun Belt Conference Championship. The Cajuns open the week in Little Rock, Ark. on Thursday (Feb. 28) for a 7:30 meeting with UALR in the Jack Stephens Center. The game is a doubleheader with the Louisiana women's basketball team facing UALR beginning at 5:00 p.m. The Cajuns have won four of their last seven games to improve to 11-18 overall and 7-11 in league play, currently owning the No. 8 seed for the SBC championship. Louisiana could finish as high as No. 5 or drop as low as No. 9, depending on how the final week of play works out. UALR has dropped four straight games, bringing a 15-14 overall and 9-9 league record into the contest. The Ragin' Cajuns own a 22-16 lead in the all-time series, including a 79-70 decision in Lafayette in the first meeting on Dec. 29.
PREVIEWING LOUISIANA: With a lineup featuring five freshmen and four sophomores, third year head coach Bob Marlin is excited about the possibilities for the 2012-13 season, knowing that the team on the floor in February bares no resemblance to the one that opened the season in November, growing and improving all season. To allow the new faces time to acclimate to the collegiate game, the Cajuns have leaned heavily on junior Bryant Mbamalu (13.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg) and sophomore sensation Elfrid Payton (16.0, 5.6, 5.2). Guard Alan-Michael Thompson (8.0 ppg), the lone senior on the squad, is also playing an increased role this year. Freshman forward Shawn Long (15.6 ppg, 10.4 rpg), a transfer from Mississippi State, and power forward Elridge Moore (5.0, 3.8), a JC transfer from Lamar State, unite to form the nucleus of the inside game with freshman Cornell Barnett and walk-on Braylon Lazare providing the depth inside. Although Payton, Mbamalu and Thompson provide the athleticism, quickness and leadership, the freshmen trio of Steven Wronkoski (6.1, 2.6), Kasey Shepherd (3.8) and Josh Soto (3.0) also contribute, giving Louisiana a deep backcourt. 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.
CAJUNS IN THE NCAA STATS: The Cajuns received several mentions in the NCAA basketball statistics, which were released on Monday (Feb. 25) and included games through Feb. 24. Individually, Shawn Long ranked fifth nationally in double-doubles (16), 11th in rebounds (10.4) and 55th in blocks (2.0) while Elfrid Payton was 13th in steals (2.4) and 45th in assists (5.2).
PAYTON PASSES 1,000 MINUTES: Sophomore guard Elfrid Payton reached a playing milestone against WKU on Saturday, playing 38 minutes to surpass the 1,000 minute mark for the season. He now has 1,028 minutes, the most by a Cajuns player since Tyren Johnon had 1,082 in 2009-10. Payton needs 70 minutes to break into the single-seasson top 10 which, at his current pace of 35.4 minutes per game (second in the Sun Belt), should happen at ULM on Saturday (March 2). Dion Brown holds the school record with 1,215 minutes played in 1983-84.
PAYTON KNOWS HOW TO CELEBRATE: Sophomore guard Elfrid Payton turned 19 on Feb. 22 and turned in his best week of basketball to celebrate. The day before his birthday, Payton scored 23 points, going nine-for-nine from the foul line, with nine rebounds, five assists and four steals in a win over Troy. On Saturday, the day after his birthday, he scored a career-high 31 points, the most points by a Cajun since David Dees had 36 points vs. Cal State Fullerton on Nov. 24, 2007. For the week, Payton averaged 27.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.5 steals in the two games, shooting .615 from the field (16-26) and .786 from the line (22-28).
PAYTON & LONG CLOSE IN ON 500 POINTS: With at least three games left in the 2012-13 season, the duo of Elfrid Payton (465 points) and Shawn Long (453) are closing in on becoming the first duo since 2006-07 to score 500 point in the same season. Tyren Johnson was the last Cajuns player to score 500 points in a season when he had 538 in 2009-10. The last duo was Ros Mouton (514) and David Dees (504) in 2009-10.
. . . AND LONG TOPS THE 300 BOARD MARK: With 13 rebounds against WKU on Feb. 23, Shawn Long has become just the sixth player in school hitory to grab 300 or more rebound in a single season. Long starts the week ranked eighth on the Louisiana single season chart with 301 rebounds. Marcus Stokes, who is one of two players to grab 300 rebounds twice in a career, was the last Cajun player to reach the figure, grabbing 370 boards in 1991-92.
THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE DOME: The Ragin' Cajuns completed the 2012-13 season with a 10-5 record in the Cajundome. It was the fourth straight year that the Cajuns won 10 or more games in the Cajundome and the 18th time in the 28 years since the Cajundome opened its doors for the 1985-86 season. Louisiana is 268-112 all-time in the Cajundome, posting winning records in 26 of the 28 seasons in the building. Louisiana is 30-14 (18-8 SBC) in the three seasons under Bob Marlin.
TAKING CHARITY: The Cajuns are experiencing a surge at the foul line of late, making 84 of their 112 free throws over the last five games (.750), including a 23-for-28 effort (.821) in the win over Troy on Feb. 21. It has been a season of ups and downs at the stripe. UL opened the year by going 195-for-280 (.696) in the first 15 games before going cold, shooting .596 (113-190) over the next nine games.
. . . AND INDIVIDUALS FIND THEIR MARK: The upswing at the foul line has resulted in several Ragin' Cajuns posting solid numbers from the line. Bryant Mbamalu has made 14 straight free throws and is 24-for-25 (.960) from the stripe over his last seven games. Elfrid Payton, who went nine-for-nine on Feb. 21 vs. Troy, had his streak of 21 consecutive free throws made snapped late in the WKU game and is now 32-for-40 (.800) over the last five contests. Finally, freshman Shawn Long has gone 11-for-13 (.846) over the last three games and Steven Wronkoski is 14-for-17 (.824) over the last five games
PAYTON AT THE LINE: One large improvement that has gone relatuvely unnoticed this year has been the improvement at the foul line by Elfrid Payton. As a freshman, Payton was 75-for-133 from the stripe (.564) but he has improved that figure to .665 this year (115-173). Over the last five games, he has gone 32-for-40 from the stripe (.800), including a string of 21 straight makes. He was nine-for-nine in the win over Troy,
. . . AND A RECORD PERFORMANCE: Elfrid Payton spent a good portion of the WKU game (Feb. 23) at the foul line as he shattered his personal bests by making 13 of hi 19 free throw attempts. The 19 attempts fell one short of the school record 20 by Dean Church vs. Northwestern State (2/26/65) and Larry Simon vs. Nicholls State (2/23/62). The 19 attempts were the most ever by a Cajuns player in a Sun Belt game, topping the old mark of 18 by Anthony Johnson at New Orleans (1/11/03) and by Lonnie Thomas vs. UNO (2/5/00).
BACK TO THE FUTURE: With Alan-Michael Thompson playing well since Bryant Mbamalu went down with an injury and Mbamalu playing even better, head coach Bob Marlin made a lineup change at South Alabama on Feb. 14, putting Mbamalu back into the lineup and taking freshman Steven Wronkoski out. It is the same lineup that the Cajuns used in games 1, 3 & 4 this year, getting wins over Oakland (90-79) and SUNO (76-66) and dropping a close 63-57 decision at Boise State. The new lineup has resulted in wins in two of the last four games, improving to 4-4 this year in games it has been used.
BEST AGAINST THE WEST: The oddity of the 2012-13 season for the Cajuns is that they have excelled against the west division and struggled vs. the east. Louisiana enters the weekend with a 5-1 record against the four west division foes, tops in the Sun Belt, handing losses to both Arkansas State (5-1) and UALR (4-2). At the other end of the spectrum, Louisiana is 2-10 against the east division, winning two of the last three games. The Cajuns final two divisional games come on the road this week when UL plays at UALR on Feb. 28 and at ULM on March 2.
. . . WHY THAT IS IMPORTANT: Next to head-to-head record, the most important tie-breaker in determining the seedings for the Sun Belt Championship is a team's winning percentage in league games. With a league-best 5-1 record against the west with two games to go, the Cajuns hold the tie-breaker over every west division team and over FIU, Florida Atlantic and Troy in the east. In one potential scenario involving a three-way tie between Louisiana, WKU and UALR at 9-9 (and a four-way tie that also includes FAU), the Cajuns would win the three-way tie despite being swept by WKU this year, and finish second in the four-way tie.
TOUGH DECISIONS: One of the best examples of the youth of the Cajuns this season is that Louisiana has not fared well in close games, going 3-9 in games decided by six points or less, including a pair of overtime losses. The wins came at UNT on Dec. 1 (80-76), when they outlasted Arkansas State, 61-56, at home on Jan. 12 and last week's 58-57 win over FAU. For the year, the Cajuns are 1-1 in two-point games, 0-2 in three-point games, 1-0 in four-point games, 1-5 in five-point games and 0-1 in six-point decisions.
. . . AND EASY ONES: The Cajuns have played their best at home this year, winning seven of their 10 home wins by 10 points or more and owning a 13.0 margin of victory in the 10 wins.
LONG RANGE SCORING: Bob Marlin said during the preseason that the three-point shot would be more prominent in the offense this year and that forecast has been accurate. The Cajuns enter the week ranked second in the Sun Belt, averaging 6.9 treys per game (200 in 29 games). FIU leads the league with a 7.0 average, making 189 treys in 27 games. The Cajuns made 74 treys in the first 12 games (6.2/game) with no double-figure games but have found their shooting touch of late, averaging 7.4 three-pointers (126 total) over the last 17 contests with five double-figure games. The 200 treys has allowed Louisiana to easily surpass the 172 three-pointers it made in 32 games last season. The Cajuns have made 200 or more treys in a season 15 times in the 24 years since the three-point shot was adopted in 1986-87, including a record 251 in 1989-90.
LONG IS DOUBLE-DOUBLE TROUBLE: A 14-point, 13-rebound effort against WKU on Feb. 23 gave redshirt freshman forward Shawn Long his 16th double-double in 29 games, good for fifth nationally. Bucknell's Mike Muscala and Towson's Jerrelle Benimon share the national lead with 19 double-doubles while Notre Dame's Jack Cooley and UNC Wilmington's Keith Rendleman tied for third with 18. Long has had a double-double in eight of the last 12 games, giving him nine double-doubles in 18 league games this season.
A TRIPLE-TWENTY: When Elfrid Payton (22 points), Alan-Michael Thompson (22) and Shawn Long (21) each surpassed the 20-point mark against FIU on Jan. 24, it marked the first time since the 2005-06 season that the Cajuns had three players with 20 or more points in a game. That came when Michael Southall (21), Dwayne Mitchell (21) and Ed Turner (20) each surpassed that mark in an 89-77 win over McNeese State on Dec. 22, 2005, 224 games ago.
LONG ENJOYS SWATTING SHOTS: With 59 blocked shots in 29 games this year, Shawn Long ranks fourth in the Sun Belt and 55th nationally in blocks. His block total ranks him sixth on the Louisiana single season chart, nine short of fifth place Michael Southall (68 in 2002-03). Long's 2.0 blocks per game are fifth-best in school history.
A 20-POINT BARRAGE: One by-product of Louisiana ranking second in the Sun Belt this year in scoring with an average of 71.0 points per game is an increased number of 20 point games by Cajuns individuals. In 32 games last year, six different Cajuns players combined to record nine 20-point performances with Josh Brown (3) being the only player with more than one 20-point game. In 29 games this year, Louisiana players have scored 20 points or more 24 times. Shawn Long leads the way with nine while Elfrid Payton (8), Bryant Mbamalu (5) and Alan-Michael Thompson (2) have also surpassed the mark.
. . . AND A 105-POINT BARRAGE: The 105 points by the Cajuns against North Texas on Jan. 31 was the most points by a Sun Belt team this year. It marked the second time that Louisiana surpassed the 100-point mark in three seasons under Bob Marlin (102 vs. Dillard on Dec. 12, 2011). It was the most points by the Cajuns since UL scored 110 at Western Kentucky on January 29, 2004.
THOMPSON ENJOYS A LONG-RANGE EVENING: Alan-Michael Thompson stepped up to provide the Cajuns with an outside shooting presence against FIU on Jan. 24, setting career highs for three-point field goals made (6) and attempted (16). The 16 three-point attempts was the second-highest single game total in school history, two shy of the school record of 18 set by Brad Boyd vs. Mississippi State on Nov. 23, 2002. The six treys is the most by a Cajun since Boyd had seven at Birmingham-Southern on Dec. 8, 2002.
. . . AND THOMPSON HAS ANOTHER GREAT NIGHT: Alan-Michael Thompson is coming off a 20-point explosion in the Feb. 21 win over Troy, going six-for-nine from three-point to match his career-high for three-pointers in a game.
THE SCORING TRIO: The Cajun trio of sophomore Elfrid Payton (16.0) ppg), freshman Shawn Long (15.6) and junior Bryant Mbamalu (13.8) have led the Louisiana offense, combining to score 61-percent of the points this season (1,262 of 2,058). Together, they have reached double figures 70 of the possible 83 times this year, including 21 games of 20-points or more. They combined to score a season-best 65 points vs. North Texas on Jan. 31 and previously scored 62 points at Florida Atlantic (Jan. 3), 61 vs. Troy on Feb. 21, 60 at North Texas on Dec. 1 and 59 vs. South Alabama (Jan. 10). The trio has totaled 50 points or more nine times this year.
. . . THE TRIO FROM A SUN BELT PERSPECTIVE: A look at the most recent Sun Belt statistics shows that the trio of Elfrid Payton (16.0 ppg), Shawn Long (15.6 ppg) and Bryant Mbamalu (13.8) rank third, fifth and 10th, respectively in league scoring. Florida Atlantic is the only other team that has two players in the top 10 in scoring, but its third-leading scorer ranks 25th. In Sun Belt games only, Payton (17.6), Long (15.2) and Mbamalu (15.1) rank third, eighth and ninth, respectively.
THOMPSON FINDS HIS MARK: Alan-Michael Thompson is closing his senior season on a high note offensively, averaging 10.5 points in league play, shooting .482 from the field (54-112) to score in double figures in eight of the 16 league games that he has played in. He has found his long-range scoring, going 34-for-83 from three-point (.410) over the last 14 games.
MBAMALU PASSES 700-POINT MARK: With 24 points against ULM on Feb. 10, junior guard Bryant Mbamalu surpassed the 700-point mark for his Louisiana career. Mbamalu has started 65 of his 85 career games, scoring 738 points in 2,133 minutes played.
. . . AND PAYTON IS RIGHT BEHIND HIM: A 31-point performance against WKU on Feb. 23 moved Elfrid Payton within six points of the 700-point mark for his career. Payton has played in 61 games during his two seasons, starting 40, scoring 694 points in 1,754 minutes of action.
. . . AND PAYTON GOES ALL 40: Elfrid Payton has taken on an increased leadership role on the team this year, leading the team and ranking second in the Sun Belt averaging 35.4 minutes per game. Payton added another first against FIU on Jan. 24, playing all 40 minutes for the first time in his collegiate career. He came back to almost do it again vs. Troy on Feb. 21, playing all but the last 11 seconds of the game. Payton, the only Cajun to start every game this year, leads the team with 1,028 minutes played.
LONG MAINTAINS FRESHMAN REBOUNDING LEAD: With 11 or more rebounds in nine of his last 12 games, Shawn Long has taken over the mantra as the top freshman rebounder in the country this year. Long has grabbed 301 rebounds in 29 games (10.4 rpg) to rank ahead of Binghamton's Jordan Reed (9.5).
. . . AND LONG CONTINUES TO RANK AMONG THE TOP FRESHMEN: A closer look at the recent NCAA stats shows that besides being the top freshman rebounder in the country this year, Shawn Long also ranks eighth among freshmen in blocked shots (2.0) and scoring (15.6).
A GREAT WIN: The win over Arkansas State on Jan. 12 is made a little more significant considering that the Cajuns had just nine players dressed in the game, with sophomore Elfrid Payton being the only player to see action who played last season. The victory allowed Louisiana to avenge a 87-70 loss to the Red Wolves in Jonesboro on Dec. 27.
SHEPHERD ENJOYS ROLE CHANGE: Freshman Kasey Shepherd celebrated his first career start against Arkansas State on Jan. 12 by scoring 13 points and setting career highs for rebounds (7) and minutes played (37). He came back to score nine points with five rebounds in his second start at WKU on Jan. 17. In his three starts, he averaged 7.3 points and 4.3 rebounds, shooting .429 from three-point (6-14). For the season, Shepherd is averaging 3.8 points in 11.3 minutes a game.
. . . AND HE HAD A GOOD NIGHT AT SOUTH ALABAMA: One of the bright spots in the Feb. 14 loss at South Alabama was the play of Kasey Shepherd, who came off the bench to set a career-high with 16 points. He was five-for-eight from the field and made three of his four three-point attempts in 20 minute of action.
PAYTON MOVES INTO FOURTH ON STEALS LIST: With 16 steals in his last five games, sophomore Elfrid Payton has raised his Sun Belt leading steal total to 70, good for 13th in the nation in the latest NCAA statistics. His effort allowed him to move past a trio of players and into fourth place on the Louisiana single season steal list. He is now five steals from catching Brian Hamilton (2004-05), who is third with 75 steals. Payton, who had 37 steals in 32 games last year, had a career-high seven steals at Michigan State on Nov. 25, falling one steal short of the school record, and came back to make four steals vs. Middle Tennessee.
. . . AND PAYTON PASSES THE CENTURY MARK: The five steals against Florida Atlantic on Feb. 16 allowed sophomore Elfrid Payton to pass the 100 mark for his Cajuns career. Payton, who had 37 steals as a freshman, has 107 steals in his career to rank 19th on the Louisiana career chart.
CAJUNS BENEFIT FROM LATE FREE THROW SHOOTING: The free throw shooting by the Cajuns has been at its best late in the game as Louisiana has gone 127-for-172 (.738) from the line in the final 5:00 minutes and overtime. Alan-Michael Thompson (13-14, .929), Shawn Long (20-26, .769) and Steven Wronkoski (14-19, .737) lead the team while Bryant Mbamalu, a career .788 shooter (41-52), is 20-for-23 this year (.870). That is a considerable improvement from the .617 (121-196) that the Cajuns shot during the 2011-12 season.
IT WAS A LONG TIME COMING: The exhibition win over Loyola-New Orleans marked the Cajuns debut for forward Shawn Long. Long transferred to Louisiana last December after spending the fall semester at Mississippi State. The 6-9 native of Morgan City, La. practiced with the Cajuns during the final three months of the year but was not eligible to play. During the summer, he was granted a waiver of transfer rule that would have made him ineligible until early December, allowing him to play immediately. Eager to make up for the lost season, Long scored 11 of UL's first 18 points against Loyola, finishing the night with 17 points and a game-high eight rebounds, going seven-for-11 from the field with a pair of blocks.
. . . AND LONG SCORES THE BASKETBALL: With at least three games left to play this season, Shawn Long's nine 20-point games remains on a pace to record the most 20-plus point performances by a Cajun since former Sun Belt Player of the Year Tyren Johnson accomplished it 12 times in 2009-10.
NEXT UP: The Cajuns will close the 2012-13 regular season at ULM on Saturday (March 2) at 4:00 p.m. The game is a doubleheader with the Louisiana women's team facing ULM at 2:00 p.m.
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