Cajuns in Las Cruces to meet Aggies

GAMEDAY CENTRAL
Louisiana (2-8) vs. New Mexico State (5-7)
When: Tues., Dec. 21, 2010 | 8 p.m. CT
Where: Pan America Center (12,482), Las Cruces, N.M.
Live Stats/Video: www.ragincajuns.com
Radio: KPEL ESPN 1420 AM/KHXT 107.9 FM
TV: None

Gameday Storylines

• UL will face New Mexico State for the second time this season on Tuesday in Las Cruces, NM at the Pan America Center.
• The two faced off in the season opener on Nov. 11 at the Cajundome. Travis Bureau scored 21 in the 76-92 loss. David Perez and Josh Brown both chipped 16 points each.
• The last time the Cajuns were in Las Cruces was during the 2004-05 season when New Mexico State was still a member of the Sun Belt. On Jan. 20, 2005 UL grabbed an 89-79 overtime win despite trailing by 11 at the half.
• The Cajuns still hold the advantage against the Aggies, leading the all-time series 10-3. The Aggies win earlier this season over UL was their first in the past nine contests.
• The Cajuns are coming off a 68-65 win over Lamar on Sunday. The win snapped a seven-game losing streak for the Cajuns.
• The Cajuns will closeout the 2010 season with a three-game road trip. After facing the Aggies, UL will open conference play at Denver on Dec. 30 before heading to Denton to ring in the New Year against North Texas on Jan. 1

Notes and Trends

Scouting the AGGIES

• The Aggies are 5-7 after winning the first three games of their five-game home stand.
• NM State beat Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 83-49, Dec. 13, Oklahoma Panhandle State, 78-46, Dec. 16, and Pacific, 69-64, Dec. 18 in the Lou Henson Classic.
• Junior forward Troy Gillenwater leads NM State with a team-high 18.4 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. Junior guard Hernst Laroche is averaging 10.5 points and 4.3 assists per contest. Freshman guard Christian Kabongo adds 10.7 points per game, while junior center Hamidu Rahman supplies 9.6 points per game.
• With the recent injuries, senior guard Gordo Castillo has averaged a team-high 13.0 points per game, while Kabongo and sophomore forward Bandja Sy have provided 11.7 and 10.7 points per contest, respectively, in the last three games.

DOWNTOWN BROWN

• After missing the past four games due to injury, Josh Brown scored 20 points off the bench in the comeback win against Lamar.
• He was 8-of-14 from the floor, scoring 11 in the second half.
• He did not pick up a personal foul or commit a turnover in 29 minutes of play.
• From the charity stripe, Brown was 3-for-3 and had one assists, one block and two steals.

COMEBACK CAJUNS

• Four times this season the Cajuns have overcome a double-digit deficit to make it a one-possession game. The Cajuns are 1-3 in these games
  Game                            Score          Deficit             Time                Run             Score          Time
  vs. Cleveland St. - L          20-38            -18              17:44 - 2nd            23-5            43-43         7:23 - 2nd
  at Tulane - L                     21-31            -10              19:42 - 2nd            22-9            43-42         9:31 - 2nd
  at UCF - L                        7-25              -18              9:31-1st                20-5            27-30         3:09 - 1st
  vs. Lamar - W                  19-30             -11              4:59 - 1st              14-3            33-33         18:37 - 2nd

PERFECT PEREZ

• Transfer David Perez has scored in double figures in three of the past four games.
• The newcomer started off hot, knocking down shots at a .700 clip (14-20), in his first two games as a Cajun. From three-point range, he is hitting .391 (18-46) of his shots. Currently, the junior guard is averaging 10.2 ppg.

FAR FROM FAIR

• Scottie Farrington has done well in his first year at UL. Currently he is averaging 7.0 ppg, 4.9 rpg and tops the squad with a .581 shooting percentage (25-43).
• At UCF, the Bahamian native, led UL with 12 points and six rebounds in just 18 minutes of action. He was 5-of-6 from the floor.
• He currently leads the Cajuns with 19 blocks, an average of 1.9 per game.

DOUBLE J

• J.J. Thomas posted his first career double-double against Texas College.
• The freshman guard scored 15 points and 11 rebounds in 30 minutes of action.
• All of his 15 points came in the second half where he was 5-for-8 from the floor

GLASS CLEANERS

• In three games this season, UL has racked up at least 45 rebounds.
• Last Sunday versus Texas College, UL recorded a season-high 49 rebounds compared to the Steers' 29, including a 23-3 edge on the offensive glass
• At Creighton, UL pulled down 45 boards compared to the Jays' 46
• Against Louisiana College, UL grabbed 46 boards, outrebounding Wildcats by 15

DOUBLE DOWN

• Travis Bureau tallied his second career double-double at McNeese after scoring 17 points and 10 rebounds.
• Bureau posted his first career double-double in the win over Louisiana College (11/15). He also set a new career-best for rebounds in the 16-point, 14-board performance.

SECOND HALF STRUGGLES

• In the games against Houston and McNeese, UL took a double-digit lead into the half only to see it not hold up to a second half comeback from the opponent.
• Against Houston, UL was up 38-26 but ultimately fell, 65-78.
• At McNeese, the Cajuns were up 43-25 before the Cowboys rattled off a 25-5 run in the second half.

BLOCK PARTY

• Scottie Farrington swatted a team-high eight shots in the loss to Cleveland State.
• It was the first time a player has posted at least eight blocks since Michael Southall had 11 against North Texas in the 2005-06 season.

FEELING FINE

• After sitting out all last season due to a gruesome injury suffered in the final game of the 2008-09 season, La'Ryan Gary has begun to make a significant impact
• This season he is averaging 8.0 ppg compared to his 6.9 ppg average from 2008-09
• Against Cleveland State, Gary led UL with 19 point, six rebounds and four steals

ALL OVER THE RADAR

• Randell Daigle put together a career-night in the loss to Creighton. He was 9-of-17 from the floor including 7-for-13 from three-point range. He set new career records in points (25), FG's made (9), rebounds (9) and three's made (7).
• His scoring effort was the most since his freshman season when he scored 24 against LSU in 2008-09.

HOLDING COURT

• Courtney Wallace put together a sold stat line against Creighton. It was his best showings of the season with 8 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block and 2 steals.
• With the effort, he set a new career record for assists in a game and tied a personal best on the glass with the 9 rebounds, including 6 offensive boards.

THE FOUR HORSEMEN

• Four players rang up double-digit numbers in the 91-66 win over Louisiana College. David Perez led all Cajuns with 22, Travis Bureau had 16 while Scottie Farrington and Josh Brown chipped in 15.

DOUBLE DIGIT DEBUTS

• Two newcomers scored in double digits in their UL debut.
• Josh Brown and David Perez both scored 16 points in the season-opener against New Mexico State.
• Brown was 8-of-21 with four rebounds.
• Perez was 6-of-9 from the floor, including a 4-of-5 showing from three-point range.

HE'S BACK

• La'Ryan Gary returned to the court for the Cajuns for the first time since suffering an injury during the opening game of the 2008-09 Sun Belt Conference.
• Against New Mexico State, the senior scored six points and had three rebounds in 16 minutes of action.

A NEW ERA BEGINS

• Louisiana named Bob Marlin the 13th head men's basketball coach at the University of Louisiana on Monday, March 29, 2010.
• Marlin comes to Louisiana after serving in the same capacity at Sam Houston State since 1998.
• In 12 seasons with the Bearkats, Marlin produced an overall record of 225 victories and 131 losses -- more victories than any other Southland Conference member during that time span.
• His best overall season with the Bearkats came in 2009-10, as he led SHSU to a 25-8 mark, including a 14-2 record in conference play and a 13-1 mark at home. He was named as 2010 Southland Conference Coach of the Year after capturing the Southland regular season and tournament championship. It was the third time that the Southland bestowed him as its Coach of the Year ('00, '03 '10).
• His last eight seasons at SHSU produced a combined record of 163-81 for an average record of 20-10 each season. That stretch included five 20-plus win seasons, two conference championships and two NCAA Tournament berths. Sam Houston is one of only 52 Division I men's basketball teams to post four 20-victory seasons in the last five years.