University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Sunday, March 2
Lafayette
3 p.m.
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
vs
South Alabama
Cajuns To Close Out Home Schedule Against South Alabama
3/1/2014 11:39:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Lazare, Moore, Mbamalu to be honored in pre-game ceremony
Game Notes
Louisiana (18-10, 9-6) vs. South Alabama (9-18, 3-11)
Date: Sunday, March 2, 2014
Time: 3 p.m. CST
Site: Cajundome (11,550); Lafayette, La.
Radio: KHXT (107.9 FM)
Play-By-Play: Jay Walker
TV: Sun Belt Network/ESPN3
Talent: Tom Dore (PBP), Bob Donewald (Color), Jessica Benson (Sideline)
Series: Tied, 24-24
Last Meeting: South Alabama 81, Louisiana 73 (1/16/14 at Mobile, Ala.)
THE COACHES
LOUISIANA
BOB MARLIN (Mississippi State '81)
At Louisiana: 61-61 (4th year)
4-Year Overall: 286-192 (16th year)
All Collegiate: 409-227 (21st year)
vs. South Alabama: 1-5
SOUTH ALABAMA
MATTHEW GRAVES (Butler, '98)
At USA: 9-18 (1st year)
Overall: Same
vs. Louisiana: 1-0
Bob Marlin Show On KPEL
The one-hour show originates from Walk-On's in Lafayette (2336 Kaliste Saloom Rd.). The next installment of the show is from 6:30-7:30 p.m. on Monday, March 3.
Ragin' Cajuns Sports All-Access
The weekly 30-minute television show on Louisiana Athletics airs every Wednesday night at 9 p.m. on KATC CW, COX cable channel 10 in Lafayette (LUS channel 20, Direct TV channel 4 and digital channel 3.2). The show is hosted by Travis Webb with Bob Marlin and includes highlights, player interviews and features.
SETTING THE SCENE: The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (18-10, 9-6) will return to action following an eight-day layoff when it plays host to South Alabama on Sunday in a 3 p.m. contest in the Cajundome. The game, which is also the final regular-season home game for the Cajuns, will be a doubleheader with the Louisiana women facing USA starting at approximately 5:30 p.m. with both games being televised by the Sun Belt Network. Tom Dore and Bob Donewald will call the action of the men's game with Jessica Benson serving as the sideline reporter. The Cajuns were 0.8 seconds away from a perfect month of February as their six-game winning streak was snapped on Jan. 22 in an 80-77 loss at league leader Georgia State. Louisiana will close out the regular-season with games at WKU (March 6) and Arkansas State (March 8) before competing in the 2014 Sun Belt Conference Tournament at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans. South Alabama (9-18, 3-11 SBC) has won two of its last three games heading into a Thursday night contest at ULM. Prior to the game, Louisiana will honor its three-man senior class - Braylon Lazare, Elridge Moore and Bryant Mbamalu.
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.
PAYTON RECEIVES POW HONORS: For the second straight week, the Cajuns have swept the two weekly player of the week awards as junior guard Elfrid Payton was the recipient of both honors. Payton averaged 22.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 4.0 steals in leading the Cajuns past both UALR and Arkansas State last week. He shot .667 from the field (16-24) en route to registering his 14th and 15th 20-point gmes of the season.
LONG REACHES THE 1,000 POINT MARK: A 16-point effort against Arkansas State on Saturday (Feb. 15) allowed Shawn Long to become the 41st player in school history to score 1,000 points in a career and the fifth to accomplish it as a sophomore. Long, who scored 22 points at Georgia State on Saturday, has now scored 1,038 career points. He is the second Cajun to reach the milestone this year, joining Elfrid Payton who now has 1,283 points (27th). Long joins Bo Lamar (1,631 points), Andrew Toney (1,269), Kevin Brooks (1,053) and Jerry Flake (1,042) as the 1,000-point sophomores.
. . . AND MBAMALU IS NEXT: A season-high 21-point game last week against Troy and 19-point effort at Georgia State has moved senior Bryant Mbamalu to within 32 points of being the 42nd player in school history to score 1,000 career points. With at least four games to go, Mbamalu needs to average 8.0 points a game to accomplish the feat. He scored 161 points as a freshman (2010-11), 233 as a sophomore (2011-12) and 400 last year as a junior. Mbamalu would already be over the 1,000-point mark had he not missed the first 12 games this year with a foot injury.
PAYTON EYES CAREER STEAL MARK: With one steal at Georgia State on Saturday, junior Elfrid Payton moved to within two of breaking the school career record of 184 set by Chris Manuel (1995-98). Payton had 37 steals as a freshman in 2011-12 and 80 in 2012-13, the third-highest single season total in school history. Payton has a Sun Belt-leading 66 steals this season.
2x1000: When Shawn Long surpassed the 1,000-point mark against Arkansas State on Saturday (Feb. 15), joining teammate Elfrid Payton as 1,000-point scoreres, it marked the seventh time in school history that two Cajuns accomplished the feat in the same season. It was also the 16th time that a team had two 1,000 point scorers on it. The last time the Cajuns had two 1,000-point players in the same year came in 2005-06 when Michael Southall and Dwayne Mitchell accomplished it.
. . . AND 3x1000: With Bryant Mbamalu on the cusp of 1,000 points for his career, it would mark only the fourth time that a Louisiana team had three 1,000-point scorers on it and the first time that all three went over the plateau in the same season. The first trio came in 1971-72 when career scoring leader Dwight "Bo" Lamar (3,493 points), Roy Ebron (1,683 points) and Payton Townsend (1,240) accomplished it. It also happened in 1983 with Graylin Warner (1,762), Dion Brown (1,412) and Alonza Allen (1,211) and finally in 1993-94 with Michael Allen (1,673), Byron Starks (1,592) and Tony Moore (1,118).
PLAYING OVERTIME: The Feb. 13 double overtime win over UALR improved the Cajuns to 2-1 this year in overtime games and 8-5 in extra time in four seasons under head coach Bob Marlin. The three overtime games are the most in a season since Louisiana went 4-1 in OT in 2011-12, Marlin's second season with the Cajuns. The Cajuns are now 31-20 all-time in overtime games and 8-11 in double overtime contests.
CAJUNS RECORD 18TH WIN: The 78-63 win over Troy on Feb. 20 was the 18th of the season for the Ragin' Cajuns and two more than the previous high total under head coach Bob Marlin (16, in 2011-12). The 18 wins are the most by the Cajuns since finishing 20-10 in 2002-03. The victory also assures the Cajuns of finishing the season with a winning record for the first time since 2002-03.
HAYWARD REGISTERS A CAREER HIGH: With Kasey Shepherd sidelined with a knee injury, head coach Bob Marlin has found some relief in freshman Hayward Register. Register, who scored just 26 points on 6-for-28 shooting from the 3-point line (.214) while playing in 14 of the first 22 games has responded by averaging 7.2 points and shooting .579 from long range (11-19) over the last five games. Included in that total is a career-high 17-point effort at UT Arlington on Feb. 6, an outburst that more than doubled his previous scoring high of seven points.
AT HOME IN THE DOME: In each of the past five seasons, the Ragin' Cajuns have posted double-digit win totals in the friendly confines of the Cajundome. During the 2013-14 season, the Cajuns have posted a 12-2 record - their best win total in the Dome since going 12-1 in 2001-02. The 12 wins this season marks the fifth time that has occurred (1995-96, 1997-98, 1999-00, 2001-02). A win in the home finale against South Alabama would mark the first time since 1990-91 that the Cajuns have won 13 games on its home floor.
SHOOTING IS THE DIFFERENCE: Thursday night's win over Troy marked the 16th time that the Cajuns have shot better from the field than their opponent in a game this season with Louisiana being a perfect 16-0 in those games. At the other end of the spectrum, the Cajuns are just 2-9 when their opponents shoots a higher percentage from the field. Turnovers have proven to be unimportant this season as Louisiana is 9-4 when committing the same number or more turnovers than its opponent and 9-5 when committing less.
A SHOOTING PERFORMANCE FOR PAYTON: Elfrid Payton was quite efficient against ULM on Feb. 1, going 13-for-14 from the field on his way to scoring a game-high 28 points. The shooting effort was the second-best on the team this year, trailing only the school-record equalling 12-for-12 game by Shawn Long against Centenary. Payton enters the week ranking 10th in the Sun Belt shooting .505 (159-316).
. . . AND PAYTON HAS KEPT IT GOING: In the six games since Elfrid Payton had his 13-for-14 shooting night against ULM (Feb. 1), Payton has kept his shooting touch, going a combined 51-for-84 from the field (.607) to improve to .521 shooting for the season (187-359), good for eighth in the Sun Belt. Payton has shot .500 or better in six of the seven games, including back-to-back 8-for-12 (.667) efforts in wins over UALR and Arkansas State.
DAVENPORT SHINES: With Shawn Long out of the lineup for the UALR game on Jan. 30, junior J.J. Davenport stepped up and turned in the best performance of his Cajuns career. Playing a career-high 27 minutes, Davenport registered his first career double-double, setting additional career highs with 14 points and 11 rebounds. He became the third Cajuns player to register a double-double this season, joining Long (14) and Payton (6). With Long in foul trouble vs. Arkansas State (Feb. 15), Davenport came back to score eight of his 13 points in the decisive second half.
. . . AND THE RETURNING STARTING FIVE HASN'T STARTED TOGETHER: Last year, the starting lineup of Elfrid Payton (G), Bryant Mbamalu (G), Steven Wronkoski (G), Elridge Moore (F) and Shawn Long (F), combined to start 144 games for the Cajuns, including 12 together as the starting five. Despite all five players returning this season and head coach Bob Marlin using 10 different starting units, they have yet to start a game together this year.
A TRIPLE-DOUBLE FOR PAYTON: After flirting with it a half-dozen times early in his career, 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 at 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)
SCORING OFF THE GLASS: Shawn Long has made the most of his rebounding opportunities this year, scoring 56 baskets off his 99 offensive rebounds this season for an average of 4.3 points a game. Long ranks second in the Sun Belt averaging 3.7 offensive rebounds a game and tied for second with teammate Elfrid Payton in scoring (19.5).
PAYTON MOVES UP SCORING CHART: A 13-point effort against Georgia State on Saturday enabled Elfrid Payton to move within two points of catching Randal Smith (1,300 points from 1984-88) for 25th place on the Cajuns career scoring list. Payton became the 40th Cajun to score 1,000 career points in the win over Central Methodist on Dec. 30. Payton, who is averaging 19.5 points, has three career 30-point games and has scored 20 or more points 25 times.
PAYTON HAS SPENT THE SEASON AT THE LINE: With 256 free throw attempts this year, Elfrid Payton enters the week ranked second nationally. Niagara's Antoine Mason leads the country with 298 attempts while Payton is second and Tennessee State's Patrick Miller (249) is third. Payton's 256 attempts are just 17 away from Dean Church's record of 273 attempts set in 1964-65. Payton has shot 598 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 18 times this season.
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 weekend with a 409-227 record (.643) in 21 seasons as a head coach. He was 123-35 in five seasons at Pensacola J.C. (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 61-61 record.
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 16 games. Mbamalu is averaging 11.8 points and 4.0 rebounds as a starter over the last 14 games. Mbamalu has back-to-back games of 21 points vs. Troy and 19 points against Arkansas State (Feb. 15), and has shot 58-for-126 (.460) from the field this season. As a junior in 2012-13, Mbamalu averaged 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.
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 33 times this season, surpassing the total for the entire 2012-13 season. Elfrid Payton (15) and Shawn Long (13) lead the way, including five contests in which they both scored 20 points. Xavian Rimmer (3), Bryant Mbamalu (1) 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 Mbamalu adding five and Alan-Michael Thompson getting two.
. . . AND 30-POINT EFFORTS: When Shawn Long set a career-high with 31 points at UT Arlington on Thursday (Feb. 6), it marked the fifth time this season that a Ragin' Cajuns player scored 30 or more points in a game. It was the second 30-point effort by Long, who also had 30 points vs. Centenary, while Elfrid Payton owns three of the efforts, scoring 31 points against Houston (Dec. 14), 32 points vs. Oakland (Nov. 23) and 34 at ULM (Jan. 4) while Shawn Long has the other, a 30-point effort vs. Centenary. Last year, the only 30-point game by a Cajun came when Payton scored 32 points against WKU.
RIMMER COMES THROUGH IN THE CLUTCH: Junior Xavian Rimmer has only been with the Cajuns for 28 games, but he is quickly gaining a reputation for making the last-second shot. Rimmer made a game-winning 3-pointer with 11.6 seconds left at Texas State to cap a Cajuns rally from 12 points down to claim a 67-66 win. At Jackson State on Dec. 19, he made a 3-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 FIFTH ON ASSISTS LIST: With 41 assists in his last seven games, Elfrid Payton has moved past both Kenneth Lawrence (401 assists from 2000-03) and George Almones (402, 1983-85) and into sixth place on the Louisiana career assist chart with 446 career assists. Payton has a ways to go to continue his climb, needing 25 assists to catch Eric Mouton (1988-92), who had 471 assists, for fifth place.
LONG MOVES INTO THIRD ON CAREER BLOCK CHART: A two-block effort against Troy moved sophomore Shawn Long past Graylin Warner (138 blocks from 1981-84) into third place on the career blocks list with 139. Long, who added block No. 140 against Georgia State, now needs 29 to catch Reginlad Poole (1995-99) for second-place at 169. Long has 75 blocks this year and 65 last season, the fifth and seventh-highest single season total in Cajuns history.
LONG LIKES TO DOUBLE UP: Sophomore Shawn Long picked right up where he left off last spring, registering double-doubles in 14 of the 26 games that he has played to rank fifth nationally. Long has 32 double-doubles in 60 career games. He enters the weekend leading the SBC in blocked shots (2.8), rebounding (10.4) and defensive rebounding (6.7), is ranked second in offensive rebounds (3.7), second in scoring (19.5) and seventh in field goal percentage (.534).
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 28 games this season. Payton enters the South Alabama game averaging 19.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 2.4 steals a game. Last year, he averaged 15.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.5 steals.
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.
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 traveled 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 Guard 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.
SHIPLEY TO BE INDUCTED INTO LOUISIANA SPORTS HALL OF FAME: Legendary Louisiana men's basketball coach Beryl Shipley, who guided the Cajuns to a 293-126 record with winning records in 15 of his 16 seasons, will be one of eight individuals selected for enshrinement in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. Shipley was the first head coach of a predominantly white state college in the deep south to give scholarships to black student-athletes. Under Shipley's leadership, the Cajuns finished in the national top 20 in each of his last six seasons - the first four in the college division polls, the last two in Division I. Starting in 1963, Shipley rattled off five Gulf States Conference Championships in six seasons, including a win at the 1964-65 NAIA District 27 Tournament Championship. The 2014 induction class will be enshrined on Saturday, June 21.
LAGNIAPPE. . . : A little gift of notes at the end:
• Shawn Long & Elfrid Payton were each named to the 2013-14 Preseason All-Sun Belt first team by the league's coaches and select media.
• Three Cajuns have combined to receive the LSWA Player of the Week honors four times this year. Shawn Long earned the first award of the year on Dec. 3 and then again on Feb. 10 while both Kasey Shepherd (Dec. 9) and Elfrid Payton (Dec. 16) early in the year.
• The win at Coastal Carolina (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 Cajuns went 2-4 in true non-conference road games this year.
• Shawn Long started the season playing his best basketball, earning Sun Belt Player of the Week honors on both Nov. 12 and Nov. 26. Long also picked up the award on Feb. 10.
• Shawn Long was honored as the MVP 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).
• Junior Elfrid Payton started the season by scoring 20 or more points in the first five games, becoming the the first Cajuns player to accomplish that since Michael Allen scored 20 points or more in 12 straight games early in the 1993-94 season.
• Cajuns great Sydney Grider (1988-90) was inducted inton the Louisiana Athletic Hall of Fame in October. 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.
• Jerry Flake (1966-69) had number retired at halftime of the Houston game (12/14). Flake 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.
• The 9-4 non-conference record allowed the Cajuns to tie the school record for most wins before Jan. 1, equaling the mark set in both 1982-83 and 1990-91.
• Shawn Long tied the school record for field goal percentage in a game by making all 12 of his field goal attempts in the win over Centenary (Dec. 17). He equaled 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).
• Kasey Shepherd made all five of his 3-point attempts against Centenary (Dec. 17) to break the school record for 3-point percentage in a game, held by Aaron Mitch (5-6, .833 vs. Bellhaven on 11/27/87) and Randell Daigle (5-6, .833 vs. FIU, 2/4/10).
CAJUNS SIGN THREE: The Louisiana coaching staff was busy during the fall, 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 hit the road for the final two games of the regular-season beginning Thursday (March 6) when it visits WKU in a 7 p.m. contest at E.A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, Ky. Louisiana will close out the regular-season two days later (Saturday, March 8) in Jonesboro, Ark.. against Arkansas State in a 7:05 p.m. contest at the Convocation Center.
Louisiana (18-10, 9-6) vs. South Alabama (9-18, 3-11)
Date: Sunday, March 2, 2014
Time: 3 p.m. CST
Site: Cajundome (11,550); Lafayette, La.
Radio: KHXT (107.9 FM)
Play-By-Play: Jay Walker
TV: Sun Belt Network/ESPN3
Talent: Tom Dore (PBP), Bob Donewald (Color), Jessica Benson (Sideline)
Series: Tied, 24-24
Last Meeting: South Alabama 81, Louisiana 73 (1/16/14 at Mobile, Ala.)
THE COACHES
LOUISIANA
BOB MARLIN (Mississippi State '81)
At Louisiana: 61-61 (4th year)
4-Year Overall: 286-192 (16th year)
All Collegiate: 409-227 (21st year)
vs. South Alabama: 1-5
SOUTH ALABAMA
MATTHEW GRAVES (Butler, '98)
At USA: 9-18 (1st year)
Overall: Same
vs. Louisiana: 1-0
Bob Marlin Show On KPEL
The one-hour show originates from Walk-On's in Lafayette (2336 Kaliste Saloom Rd.). The next installment of the show is from 6:30-7:30 p.m. on Monday, March 3.
Ragin' Cajuns Sports All-Access
The weekly 30-minute television show on Louisiana Athletics airs every Wednesday night at 9 p.m. on KATC CW, COX cable channel 10 in Lafayette (LUS channel 20, Direct TV channel 4 and digital channel 3.2). The show is hosted by Travis Webb with Bob Marlin and includes highlights, player interviews and features.
SETTING THE SCENE: The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (18-10, 9-6) will return to action following an eight-day layoff when it plays host to South Alabama on Sunday in a 3 p.m. contest in the Cajundome. The game, which is also the final regular-season home game for the Cajuns, will be a doubleheader with the Louisiana women facing USA starting at approximately 5:30 p.m. with both games being televised by the Sun Belt Network. Tom Dore and Bob Donewald will call the action of the men's game with Jessica Benson serving as the sideline reporter. The Cajuns were 0.8 seconds away from a perfect month of February as their six-game winning streak was snapped on Jan. 22 in an 80-77 loss at league leader Georgia State. Louisiana will close out the regular-season with games at WKU (March 6) and Arkansas State (March 8) before competing in the 2014 Sun Belt Conference Tournament at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans. South Alabama (9-18, 3-11 SBC) has won two of its last three games heading into a Thursday night contest at ULM. Prior to the game, Louisiana will honor its three-man senior class - Braylon Lazare, Elridge Moore and Bryant Mbamalu.
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.
PAYTON RECEIVES POW HONORS: For the second straight week, the Cajuns have swept the two weekly player of the week awards as junior guard Elfrid Payton was the recipient of both honors. Payton averaged 22.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 4.0 steals in leading the Cajuns past both UALR and Arkansas State last week. He shot .667 from the field (16-24) en route to registering his 14th and 15th 20-point gmes of the season.
LONG REACHES THE 1,000 POINT MARK: A 16-point effort against Arkansas State on Saturday (Feb. 15) allowed Shawn Long to become the 41st player in school history to score 1,000 points in a career and the fifth to accomplish it as a sophomore. Long, who scored 22 points at Georgia State on Saturday, has now scored 1,038 career points. He is the second Cajun to reach the milestone this year, joining Elfrid Payton who now has 1,283 points (27th). Long joins Bo Lamar (1,631 points), Andrew Toney (1,269), Kevin Brooks (1,053) and Jerry Flake (1,042) as the 1,000-point sophomores.
. . . AND MBAMALU IS NEXT: A season-high 21-point game last week against Troy and 19-point effort at Georgia State has moved senior Bryant Mbamalu to within 32 points of being the 42nd player in school history to score 1,000 career points. With at least four games to go, Mbamalu needs to average 8.0 points a game to accomplish the feat. He scored 161 points as a freshman (2010-11), 233 as a sophomore (2011-12) and 400 last year as a junior. Mbamalu would already be over the 1,000-point mark had he not missed the first 12 games this year with a foot injury.
PAYTON EYES CAREER STEAL MARK: With one steal at Georgia State on Saturday, junior Elfrid Payton moved to within two of breaking the school career record of 184 set by Chris Manuel (1995-98). Payton had 37 steals as a freshman in 2011-12 and 80 in 2012-13, the third-highest single season total in school history. Payton has a Sun Belt-leading 66 steals this season.
2x1000: When Shawn Long surpassed the 1,000-point mark against Arkansas State on Saturday (Feb. 15), joining teammate Elfrid Payton as 1,000-point scoreres, it marked the seventh time in school history that two Cajuns accomplished the feat in the same season. It was also the 16th time that a team had two 1,000 point scorers on it. The last time the Cajuns had two 1,000-point players in the same year came in 2005-06 when Michael Southall and Dwayne Mitchell accomplished it.
. . . AND 3x1000: With Bryant Mbamalu on the cusp of 1,000 points for his career, it would mark only the fourth time that a Louisiana team had three 1,000-point scorers on it and the first time that all three went over the plateau in the same season. The first trio came in 1971-72 when career scoring leader Dwight "Bo" Lamar (3,493 points), Roy Ebron (1,683 points) and Payton Townsend (1,240) accomplished it. It also happened in 1983 with Graylin Warner (1,762), Dion Brown (1,412) and Alonza Allen (1,211) and finally in 1993-94 with Michael Allen (1,673), Byron Starks (1,592) and Tony Moore (1,118).
PLAYING OVERTIME: The Feb. 13 double overtime win over UALR improved the Cajuns to 2-1 this year in overtime games and 8-5 in extra time in four seasons under head coach Bob Marlin. The three overtime games are the most in a season since Louisiana went 4-1 in OT in 2011-12, Marlin's second season with the Cajuns. The Cajuns are now 31-20 all-time in overtime games and 8-11 in double overtime contests.
CAJUNS RECORD 18TH WIN: The 78-63 win over Troy on Feb. 20 was the 18th of the season for the Ragin' Cajuns and two more than the previous high total under head coach Bob Marlin (16, in 2011-12). The 18 wins are the most by the Cajuns since finishing 20-10 in 2002-03. The victory also assures the Cajuns of finishing the season with a winning record for the first time since 2002-03.
HAYWARD REGISTERS A CAREER HIGH: With Kasey Shepherd sidelined with a knee injury, head coach Bob Marlin has found some relief in freshman Hayward Register. Register, who scored just 26 points on 6-for-28 shooting from the 3-point line (.214) while playing in 14 of the first 22 games has responded by averaging 7.2 points and shooting .579 from long range (11-19) over the last five games. Included in that total is a career-high 17-point effort at UT Arlington on Feb. 6, an outburst that more than doubled his previous scoring high of seven points.
AT HOME IN THE DOME: In each of the past five seasons, the Ragin' Cajuns have posted double-digit win totals in the friendly confines of the Cajundome. During the 2013-14 season, the Cajuns have posted a 12-2 record - their best win total in the Dome since going 12-1 in 2001-02. The 12 wins this season marks the fifth time that has occurred (1995-96, 1997-98, 1999-00, 2001-02). A win in the home finale against South Alabama would mark the first time since 1990-91 that the Cajuns have won 13 games on its home floor.
SHOOTING IS THE DIFFERENCE: Thursday night's win over Troy marked the 16th time that the Cajuns have shot better from the field than their opponent in a game this season with Louisiana being a perfect 16-0 in those games. At the other end of the spectrum, the Cajuns are just 2-9 when their opponents shoots a higher percentage from the field. Turnovers have proven to be unimportant this season as Louisiana is 9-4 when committing the same number or more turnovers than its opponent and 9-5 when committing less.
A SHOOTING PERFORMANCE FOR PAYTON: Elfrid Payton was quite efficient against ULM on Feb. 1, going 13-for-14 from the field on his way to scoring a game-high 28 points. The shooting effort was the second-best on the team this year, trailing only the school-record equalling 12-for-12 game by Shawn Long against Centenary. Payton enters the week ranking 10th in the Sun Belt shooting .505 (159-316).
. . . AND PAYTON HAS KEPT IT GOING: In the six games since Elfrid Payton had his 13-for-14 shooting night against ULM (Feb. 1), Payton has kept his shooting touch, going a combined 51-for-84 from the field (.607) to improve to .521 shooting for the season (187-359), good for eighth in the Sun Belt. Payton has shot .500 or better in six of the seven games, including back-to-back 8-for-12 (.667) efforts in wins over UALR and Arkansas State.
DAVENPORT SHINES: With Shawn Long out of the lineup for the UALR game on Jan. 30, junior J.J. Davenport stepped up and turned in the best performance of his Cajuns career. Playing a career-high 27 minutes, Davenport registered his first career double-double, setting additional career highs with 14 points and 11 rebounds. He became the third Cajuns player to register a double-double this season, joining Long (14) and Payton (6). With Long in foul trouble vs. Arkansas State (Feb. 15), Davenport came back to score eight of his 13 points in the decisive second half.
. . . AND THE RETURNING STARTING FIVE HASN'T STARTED TOGETHER: Last year, the starting lineup of Elfrid Payton (G), Bryant Mbamalu (G), Steven Wronkoski (G), Elridge Moore (F) and Shawn Long (F), combined to start 144 games for the Cajuns, including 12 together as the starting five. Despite all five players returning this season and head coach Bob Marlin using 10 different starting units, they have yet to start a game together this year.
A TRIPLE-DOUBLE FOR PAYTON: After flirting with it a half-dozen times early in his career, 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 at 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)
SCORING OFF THE GLASS: Shawn Long has made the most of his rebounding opportunities this year, scoring 56 baskets off his 99 offensive rebounds this season for an average of 4.3 points a game. Long ranks second in the Sun Belt averaging 3.7 offensive rebounds a game and tied for second with teammate Elfrid Payton in scoring (19.5).
PAYTON MOVES UP SCORING CHART: A 13-point effort against Georgia State on Saturday enabled Elfrid Payton to move within two points of catching Randal Smith (1,300 points from 1984-88) for 25th place on the Cajuns career scoring list. Payton became the 40th Cajun to score 1,000 career points in the win over Central Methodist on Dec. 30. Payton, who is averaging 19.5 points, has three career 30-point games and has scored 20 or more points 25 times.
PAYTON HAS SPENT THE SEASON AT THE LINE: With 256 free throw attempts this year, Elfrid Payton enters the week ranked second nationally. Niagara's Antoine Mason leads the country with 298 attempts while Payton is second and Tennessee State's Patrick Miller (249) is third. Payton's 256 attempts are just 17 away from Dean Church's record of 273 attempts set in 1964-65. Payton has shot 598 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 18 times this season.
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 weekend with a 409-227 record (.643) in 21 seasons as a head coach. He was 123-35 in five seasons at Pensacola J.C. (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 61-61 record.
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 16 games. Mbamalu is averaging 11.8 points and 4.0 rebounds as a starter over the last 14 games. Mbamalu has back-to-back games of 21 points vs. Troy and 19 points against Arkansas State (Feb. 15), and has shot 58-for-126 (.460) from the field this season. As a junior in 2012-13, Mbamalu averaged 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.
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 33 times this season, surpassing the total for the entire 2012-13 season. Elfrid Payton (15) and Shawn Long (13) lead the way, including five contests in which they both scored 20 points. Xavian Rimmer (3), Bryant Mbamalu (1) 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 Mbamalu adding five and Alan-Michael Thompson getting two.
. . . AND 30-POINT EFFORTS: When Shawn Long set a career-high with 31 points at UT Arlington on Thursday (Feb. 6), it marked the fifth time this season that a Ragin' Cajuns player scored 30 or more points in a game. It was the second 30-point effort by Long, who also had 30 points vs. Centenary, while Elfrid Payton owns three of the efforts, scoring 31 points against Houston (Dec. 14), 32 points vs. Oakland (Nov. 23) and 34 at ULM (Jan. 4) while Shawn Long has the other, a 30-point effort vs. Centenary. Last year, the only 30-point game by a Cajun came when Payton scored 32 points against WKU.
RIMMER COMES THROUGH IN THE CLUTCH: Junior Xavian Rimmer has only been with the Cajuns for 28 games, but he is quickly gaining a reputation for making the last-second shot. Rimmer made a game-winning 3-pointer with 11.6 seconds left at Texas State to cap a Cajuns rally from 12 points down to claim a 67-66 win. At Jackson State on Dec. 19, he made a 3-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 FIFTH ON ASSISTS LIST: With 41 assists in his last seven games, Elfrid Payton has moved past both Kenneth Lawrence (401 assists from 2000-03) and George Almones (402, 1983-85) and into sixth place on the Louisiana career assist chart with 446 career assists. Payton has a ways to go to continue his climb, needing 25 assists to catch Eric Mouton (1988-92), who had 471 assists, for fifth place.
LONG MOVES INTO THIRD ON CAREER BLOCK CHART: A two-block effort against Troy moved sophomore Shawn Long past Graylin Warner (138 blocks from 1981-84) into third place on the career blocks list with 139. Long, who added block No. 140 against Georgia State, now needs 29 to catch Reginlad Poole (1995-99) for second-place at 169. Long has 75 blocks this year and 65 last season, the fifth and seventh-highest single season total in Cajuns history.
LONG LIKES TO DOUBLE UP: Sophomore Shawn Long picked right up where he left off last spring, registering double-doubles in 14 of the 26 games that he has played to rank fifth nationally. Long has 32 double-doubles in 60 career games. He enters the weekend leading the SBC in blocked shots (2.8), rebounding (10.4) and defensive rebounding (6.7), is ranked second in offensive rebounds (3.7), second in scoring (19.5) and seventh in field goal percentage (.534).
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 28 games this season. Payton enters the South Alabama game averaging 19.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 2.4 steals a game. Last year, he averaged 15.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.5 steals.
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.
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 traveled 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 Guard 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.
SHIPLEY TO BE INDUCTED INTO LOUISIANA SPORTS HALL OF FAME: Legendary Louisiana men's basketball coach Beryl Shipley, who guided the Cajuns to a 293-126 record with winning records in 15 of his 16 seasons, will be one of eight individuals selected for enshrinement in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. Shipley was the first head coach of a predominantly white state college in the deep south to give scholarships to black student-athletes. Under Shipley's leadership, the Cajuns finished in the national top 20 in each of his last six seasons - the first four in the college division polls, the last two in Division I. Starting in 1963, Shipley rattled off five Gulf States Conference Championships in six seasons, including a win at the 1964-65 NAIA District 27 Tournament Championship. The 2014 induction class will be enshrined on Saturday, June 21.
LAGNIAPPE. . . : A little gift of notes at the end:
• Shawn Long & Elfrid Payton were each named to the 2013-14 Preseason All-Sun Belt first team by the league's coaches and select media.
• Three Cajuns have combined to receive the LSWA Player of the Week honors four times this year. Shawn Long earned the first award of the year on Dec. 3 and then again on Feb. 10 while both Kasey Shepherd (Dec. 9) and Elfrid Payton (Dec. 16) early in the year.
• The win at Coastal Carolina (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 Cajuns went 2-4 in true non-conference road games this year.
• Shawn Long started the season playing his best basketball, earning Sun Belt Player of the Week honors on both Nov. 12 and Nov. 26. Long also picked up the award on Feb. 10.
• Shawn Long was honored as the MVP 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).
• Junior Elfrid Payton started the season by scoring 20 or more points in the first five games, becoming the the first Cajuns player to accomplish that since Michael Allen scored 20 points or more in 12 straight games early in the 1993-94 season.
• Cajuns great Sydney Grider (1988-90) was inducted inton the Louisiana Athletic Hall of Fame in October. 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.
• Jerry Flake (1966-69) had number retired at halftime of the Houston game (12/14). Flake 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.
• The 9-4 non-conference record allowed the Cajuns to tie the school record for most wins before Jan. 1, equaling the mark set in both 1982-83 and 1990-91.
• Shawn Long tied the school record for field goal percentage in a game by making all 12 of his field goal attempts in the win over Centenary (Dec. 17). He equaled 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).
• Kasey Shepherd made all five of his 3-point attempts against Centenary (Dec. 17) to break the school record for 3-point percentage in a game, held by Aaron Mitch (5-6, .833 vs. Bellhaven on 11/27/87) and Randell Daigle (5-6, .833 vs. FIU, 2/4/10).
CAJUNS SIGN THREE: The Louisiana coaching staff was busy during the fall, 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 hit the road for the final two games of the regular-season beginning Thursday (March 6) when it visits WKU in a 7 p.m. contest at E.A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, Ky. Louisiana will close out the regular-season two days later (Saturday, March 8) in Jonesboro, Ark.. against Arkansas State in a 7:05 p.m. contest at the Convocation Center.
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