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Shawn Long knew going into Tuesday night’s game that he would be in for a big night, knowing that he held a big size advantage over Centenary College. But the UL sophomore forward not only dominated in the post, he came up with the basketball version of the perfect game.
Long went 12-of-12 from the field for the best shooting night in the history of the Ragin’ Cajun basketball program and scored 30 points in UL’s 103-69 win over Division III Centenary College Tuesday night at the Cajundome. Long tied a school record with 100 percent shooting, the last by Chris Manuel in 1998, when he went 10-for-10.
“I just tried to get a rhythm going in the second half,” said Long, who also had seven rebounds. “In the first half, I didn’t think I got that many touches due to coach telling me to go out and be a little aggressive, so that was OK. And coming out the second half, he told me to work inside-out, so as the guards start doing that, I just took it upon myself to try my best to finish. And it came out good.”
Long was active and aggressive all game long, scoring on short-range jumpers and a few slam dunks against an undersized Gentleman defense. But Long did his work quickly and got some rest on the bench, as the Cajuns were able to get some of their reserves some work before the holidays.
The Cajuns played all 12 available players in the first half, including center Vieux Kande, who scored eight points in the first half on 4-of-6 shooting. “I thought he played well,” Long said of Kande’s play. “He’s a little raw right now, but he’s still learning. I think he came a long way and tonight just showed it.”
Guard Kevin Brown – who came off the bench after starting the previous 10 games this season – scored 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field. Guard Elfrid Payton was solid as usual, putting up 15 points and seven assists in 25 minutes work.
Marlin changed up the lineup by starting guards Kasey Shepherd and Xavian Rimmer, and Shepherd benefited by going 5-for-5 from the 3-point line and scoring 19 points.
“I’ve been more focused and just trying to come into the game more prepared and ready to help my team,” Shepherd said.
UL played tough on defense, holding the Gents to 39 percent shooting and forcing 11 turnovers. The only Centenary player that shot well was guard Jonathan Blount, who was 6-of-11 from the field in the first half. Blount went on to score 28 points in the game on 8-of-13 shooting. Gent forward and former Northside star Kendall Demouchet has 17 points and four rebounds.
But head coach Bob Marlin felt that there was a lot of work the Cajuns need to do of the defensive side of the ball.
“We were good offensively but not good defensively at times,” he said. “We were fortunate enough that we defended enough and scored enough to win the game.”
Centenary (4-2) started the second half strong, going 4-for-5 from the field in the first five minutes of the half. But Long and Payton kept finding ways to score, and the Cajuns led by as little as 17 in the second half. Then UL (8-3) went on a 7-2 run, sparked by a 3-pointer by Long. That put the Cajuns up by 24, and the reserves came in and got some work.
Every Cajun got playing time in this one, with only two players (freshmen Hayward Register and Luka Kamber) not getting into the scoring column.
The game allowed Long and Payton to get some well-needed rest before the Cajuns head to play at Jackson State on Thursday. The Tigers are at the bottom of the rankings in points and shooting, so if the Cajuns want to get to the holidays on a good note, there are two things that they need to work on.
“Defense and rebounding,” Shepherd said. “We have guys that can score from 3, from 2, from the free-throw line. But if we don’t play defense, we won’t get anywhere. I think that’s the big focus right now.”
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