University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
UT Arlington
Players Mentioned
MBB Game 28 Preview: at UT Arlington
2/20/2015 8:07:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Saturday, Feb. 21 • 7:15 p.m. (CST) • College Park Center (7,000) • Arlington, Texas
Game Notes: Louisiana | UT Arlington
Live Stats
Radio: KHXT 107.9 FM Video: UTAMavs.com
Rosters: Louisiana | UT Arlington
Statistics: Louisiana | UT Arlington
Ragin' Cajuns Twitter: @ULRaginCajuns | @Cajunbasketball
Opponents Twitter: @UTAMavs
THE COACHES
Louisiana: Bob Marlin (Mississippi State, 1981)
Career Record: 429-241 (22nd season) Record at Louisiana: 81-75 (5th season)
UT Arlington: Scott Cross (UT Arlington, 1998)
Career Record: 152-123 (9th season) Record at UT Arlington: Same
FOR STARTERS
With just four games left on the regular season slate before the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, a crucial game for seeding looms for the Ragin' Cajuns on Saturday when they travel to UT Arlington. The Mavericks stand a half game ahead of UL in the league standings for fourth place, with the fourth-place spot holding a first-round bye in the SBC Tournament.
THE LAST TIME OUT
The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns put forth their best defensive performance of the season on Thursday night and roared past Texas State for a 64-42 win at the Cajundome.
The Cajuns put three players in double figures and closed the first half on a 21-6 run, getting a three from Jay Wright just before the halftime buzzer to go into the break up 10. From there Louisiana held the Bobcats to just 42 points, opponent all season, and just 32.1 percent shooting which was the lowest in SBC play.
Louisiana's defense also held Texas State without a three-point make on six tries, marking the first time since February 6, 2010 when UALR went to 0-for-13 from the arc, that it held an opponent without a triple.
Shawn Long hit 8-of-12 shots from the field and had a game-high 17 points and seven rebounds for the Cajuns, but was part of a balanced offensive attack. UL sank 45.3 percent of its shots, including eight threes from four different players, and had three players in double figures.
Wright, who dished out 10 assists the last time the teams met in San Marcos, doled out six more dimes to go with 13 points in 32 minutes. Meanwhile, Kasey Shepherd led a 30-point outpouring from the bench with 14 points, along with six rebounds, three assists and a steal.
UP NEXT
The Cajuns will have a week off before playing three games in seven days to end the SBC season. UL will next host Georgia Southern on Feb. 28 before ending the home slate with Senior Day on March 5 vs UALR. The Cajuns then wrap up the regular season on March 7 at Arkansas State.
• Shawn Long is one of only three players in the country averaging at least 17.0 ppg and 10.0 rpg, joined by Desharick Guidry (McNeese State) and Jerome Hill (Gardner-Webb).
• Steven Wronkoski had his best game of the season on Saturday at Troy, coming off the bench for 13 points and five rebouds. It is the 11th double-figure scoring game of his career, and the first of the season. The 13 points is the most since he scored a career-high 17 at McNeese State as a freshman on December 8, 2012.
• The Cajuns won Saturday's game at Troy despite the Trojans hitting 62.0 percent from the floor. That percentage is the highest for an opponent in a Cajun win in the Bob Marlin era.
• The Cajuns are shooting .704 from the free throw line this year, a mark that ranks second in the SBC. UL hasn't shot better than .700 as a team from the foul line since the 1993-94 team shot .716 from the stripe.
• UL held Texas State without a made three-point basket in Thursday's win. It's the first time a UL opponent has been without a triple since Feb. 6, 2010 when UALR went 0-for-13 from three.
#GeauxCajuns
