Ragin Cajuns to host UC-Irvine in CIT Quarterfinals

Senior Kasey Shepherd scored a team-high 18 points to become the 43rd player in school history to reach the 1,000-point mark, and the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns led from wire-to-wire to defeat Furman, 80-72, in the second round of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament Saturday at Timmons Arena.
Devonta Walker recorded a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds as Louisiana (19-14) advanced to the CIT quarterfinals where it will face an opponent to be announced Wednesday. Furman, which was 14-1 at home this season, ended with a 19-15 record.
“We actually struggled (from the floor) the first couple of minutes of the game and missed some easy shots,” Louisiana head coach Bob Marlin said in a news release, “but then we got on a roll and built a quick lead. Devonta had a good first half with a double-double. He was very aggressive on the boards and made some shots for us. It was a team effort in the first half as a bunch of people came in and hit shots for our team.”
Louisiana opened the game on a 9-0 run and never looked back as Shawn Long scored in the lane, Steven Wronkoski sank a 3-pointer and Walker followed with a tip-in and layup.
Walker, who finished 6-for-12 from the floor, gave the Ragin’ Cajuns a 14-3 lead with a layup with 14:37 remaining in the first half before Louisiana took its biggest lead of the game — 25-7 — on a 3-pointer by Hayward Register at the 10:41 mark.
Louisiana maintained its 18-point lead as Johnathan Stove scored in the lane for a 27-12 lead, but Furman chipped away at the lead. The Paladins, who started 2-for-13 from the floor, got as close as 37-28 when Devin Sibley scored on a layup with 55 seconds remaining, but Louisiana pushed its lead to 41-28 on a pair of Bryce Washington layups.
“We felt good at halftime, going in up 13 (points) knowing they (Furman) were going to give us a great shot,” Marlin said. “They won 11 straight home games and set a school-record for wins at home (14). They’ve got a lot of highlights this year and they played us right to the buzzer. I was really proud of our guys, up 13 at the half and they (Furman) never got it below double-figures until the final minute.”
Shepherd, who finished 6-for-16 from the field and 3-for-7 from behind the 3-point line, buried a 3-pointer that gave Louisiana a 56-40 lead with 13:41 remaining. The senior later became the first member of the Ragin’ Cajuns to reach the 1,000-point mark since Bryant Mbamalu when his steal and layup with 3:16 remaining gave Louisiana a 70-57 lead.
The Paladins, who reached the second round after a dramatic 58-57 win over ULM on Tuesday, got as close as 75-66 on a 3-pointer by Stephen Croome, but Walker scored the Cajuns’ final five points to help seal the win.
Croome, the SoCon Player of the Year, scored 29 points to lead Furman with Sibley adding 15. The Paladins finished 25-for-58 (43 percent) from the floor and 10-for-30 from behind the 3-point line.
Jay Wright added 17 points for the Ragin’ Cajuns with Long finishing with 10. Louisiana was 27-for-57 (47 percent) from the floor and 20-for-28 (71 percent) from the free throw line.