Long records double-double in ULL rout

Shawn Long recorded his third consecutive double-double with 25 points and 16 rebounds as he led five players in double figures and carried the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns men’s basketball team to a 106-62 victory against Loyola of New Orleans Wednesday at the Cajundome.
Jay Wright added 13 points and had three steals for Louisiana (2-2), with Johnathan Stove and Tyrone Wooten scoring 11 each and Devonta Walker adding 10.
After allowing its last two opponents — Miami (Fla.) and Alabama — to shoot over the 50-percent mark from the field, the Ragin’ Cajuns returned home to the Cajundome and turned in their best defensive effort of the season, holding Loyola to 30.3 percent (23-for-76) from the floor.
“I thought our defense was much better tonight,” Louisiana head coach Bob Marlin said in a news release. “We played our big lineup tonight, and we were able to sit down and guard for the most part with the first group. When Jay (Hedgeman) and Jay Wright came out of the game, we weren’t quite as effective as we wanted to be, and we had a little drop off. All in all, our defense was good.”
Louisiana never trailed after Long’s three-point play 16 seconds into the game gave the Ragin’ Cajuns a 3-0 lead. Long, a Morgan City High alum who passed former Ragin’ Cajuns legend Roy Ebron as the school’s all-time leader in rebounds last week at Alabama, passed another Cajuns legend — Graylin Warner (1,762 points from 1980-84) — into sixth place on the school’s all-time scoring list.
The Ragin’ Cajuns opened the game with a 20-5 run against the NAIA Wolf Pack as Long hit the first of two free throws at the 13:26 mark before scoring on a bucket with 13:01 remaining in the first half.
But Loyola chipped away at the lead as it went on a 14-6 run to get to within 26-19 with 8:44 remaining in the first half. Johnny Griffin Jr., who led Loyola with 21 points, scored six points during the spurt, with Nick Parker and Mason Ibert each connecting on a pair of free throws before Nate Pierre and Jalen Gray each scored on short jumpers.
That would be as close as the Wolf Pack would get the rest of the night as Louisiana scored the game’s next 10 points before building a 50-33 lead at halftime.
A layup and a pair of free throws by Long gave the Ragin’ Cajuns a 30-19 lead before Wright buried a 3-pointer from the right wing for a 33-19 advantage with 8 minutes remaining.
A pair of free throws by Steven Wronkoski with 7:06 remaining and a free throw by Wright at the 6:28 mark gave Louisiana a 36-19 lead that would eventually get to 20 points three times in the final 3:49 of the half — the last coming on a layup by Stove for a 48-28 cushion at the 1:56 mark.
Louisiana, which scored 100 points in each of its first two home contests this season, outscored Loyola 56-29 in the second half as it limited the Wolf Pack to 10-for-42 shooting (23.8 percent) in the final 20 minutes.
The Ragin’ Cajuns opened the second half with a 15-5 run as Long scored seven points, including a 3-pointer, with Hedgeman and Wright scoring four points each in the span.
A three-point play by Long gave Louisiana a 70-40 lead with 11:57 remaining in the game before a three-pointer by Wooten at the 4:18 mark gave the Ragin’ Cajuns a 97-57 advantage.
All 12 players who dressed for the Ragin’ Cajuns scored, with Wooten, Scott Plaisance (eight points), Wronkoski (seven points) and Matt Marlin (three points) each scoring season highs.
The Ragin’ Cajuns finished 36-for-68 (52.9 percent) from the floor with nine players contributing on a season-high tying 11 three-pointers.
Stove and Wooten combined to shoot 10-for-16 from the floor with eight assists for the Ragin’ Cajuns, who entered the game leading the Sun Belt Conference and ranked 13th nationally in scoring offense (92.7).
Pierre and Gray joined Griffin in double digits for Loyola, adding 10 points each. Griffin, Gray and Tre’Von Jasmine grabbed a team-high six rebounds each for the Wolf Pack.
Louisiana will take off for the Thanksgiving holiday before resuming action Dec. 3, when it travels to face in-state rival ULM in the Sun Belt Conference opener for both teams.