UL Roundballers On Road To Face Montana St. – At A Glance

Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajun men’s basketball team returns to the hardwood on Monday evening, when coach Bob Marlin squad is on the road to take on the Montana St. Bobcats in non-conference action.

Tipoff time at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse in Bozeman, Montana is scheduled for 8 pm (cdt).

You can hear all the play-by-play action on ESPN 1420 and espn1420.com, as well as Hot 107.9 and 1079ishot.com, beginning with the pre-game show at 7:30 pm.

Louisiana, who fell to Minnesota, 86-74, in their season opener last Friday night, went 19-15 last season, including a quarterfinal appearance in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament, the fourth time in the last five years that they’ve qualified for the postseason.

The Cajuns are without the services of four players who played out their eligibility last season, including Shawn Long, who finished as the school’s all-time leading rebounder, while pouring in 2,300 career points,  Kasey Shepherd, who became the 43rd player in school history to reach the 1,000-point mark, Devonta Walker, who played in all 34 games a season ago, and Steven Wronkoski, who finished his career as the school’s all-time leader in games played.

The Cajuns do return three starters from last year’s squad, including senior point guard Jay Wright, who averaged 8.9 points-per-game last season, along with junior guard Johnathan Stove, who also averaged 8.9 points, and junior forward Bryce Washington, who averaged 8.7 points a contest, to go along with 5.7 rebounds.

Louisiana will also be relying on a host of talented newcomers, including guard Frank Bartley, who sat out last season, after playing the first two seasons of his collegiate career at Brigham Young.

Two freshmen, Justin Miller and Kadavion Evans, scored 21 and 11 points, respectively, in the loss on Friday night.

Montana St., who went 14-16 a season ago, dropped their season opener, 69-65, to Washington St. last Friday.

The Bobcats are paced by sophomore guard Tyler Hall, who poured in 32 points against Washington St. on Friday night

Louisiana, who will play 16 home games this season, including their first six at Blackham Coliseum, while renovations to the Cajundome are being completed, will open their home schedule on Nov. 17 against Panhandle State.