Ragin' Cajuns top Appalachian State

Kasey Shepherd scored 19 points to lead four players in double figures, and the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns men’s basketball team turned in one of its best defensive efforts in a 79-58 win against Appalachian State in a Sun Belt Conference game Saturday at the Cajundome.
Shawn Long, a Morgan City High alum, recorded his 59th career double-double — the most by an active NCAA player as of Saturday — as the senior scored 18 points and grabbed 15 rebounds for Louisiana (5-6, 1-1 Sun Belt).
Bryce Washington added 12 points and two blocks for the Ragin’ Cajuns, while Jay Wright scored 11 points along with a game-high four assists and three steals.
“In the first half, we shared the basketball, hit the open man and made some shots,” Louisiana head coach Bob Marlin said in a news release. “They (App State) were double-teaming Shawn in the post, and we were prepared for that. Bryce (Washington) got some easy baskets from his ability to cut (in the lane) and recognize what was going on.
“Defensively, we had a lot of energy early,” Marlin added. “We certainly didn’t object with coach (Jim) Fox bringing (Frank) Eaves off the bench. But when he did come in, we had enough energy there defensively. We were active, we were talking and we defended well in the first half.”
Louisiana opened the game with an 8-2 run against the Mountaineers (2-11, 0-2 Sun Belt) as a jumper by Wright snapped a 2-2 tie with 17:59 remaining in the first half. The Ragin’ Cajuns would add layups by Shepherd and Long to take an 8-2 lead and eventually pushed their lead to 17-6 on a driving layup to the basket by Washington.
The Ragin’ Cajuns pushed their lead to 40-21 at halftime as they went 18-for-33 (54.5 percent) from the floor in the opening 20 minutes while holding Appalachian State to an 8-for-24 aim (33.3).
Long, who finished 6-for-11 from the floor and 5-for-6 from the free throw line, gave Louisiana a 47-26 lead off a dunk before Shepherd gave the Ragin’ Cajuns their biggest lead of the night — 58-33 — when he sank a pair of free throws with 12:29 remaining.
Appalachian State got as close as 70-54 after Michael Obacha sank a pair of free throws with 4:23 remaining, but Wright followed with a pair of free throws with Shepherd adding two free throws and a step-back 3-pointer that eventually pushed Louisiana’s lead to 77-57 with 1:59 remaining.
Louisiana finished 28-for-59 (47.5 percent) from the floor while limiting the Mountaineers to 20-for-61 (32.8 percent). The Ragin’ Cajuns held a 41-31 advantage on the glass as Jay Hedgeman came off the bench to grab six boards.
Eaves, the SBC’s second-leading scorer, led Appalachian State with 19 points on 6-of-14 shooting. Ronshad Shabazz added 11 points for the Mountaineers, while Jacob Lawson grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
Louisiana will hit the road for its next four games, beginning Thursday at Little Rock, Arkansas, before traveling to face Arkansas State Saturday.