Men’s Basketball: The stretch drive

Men’s Basketball: The stretch drive

Joshua Parrott • jparrott@theadvertiser.com • February 17, 2011

Freshman forward J.J. Thomas, shown here against UALR earlier this season, is a prime example of the aggressive play and concentration that’s led to UL’s seven-game winning streak. (Denny Culbert/dculbert@theadvertiser.com)

Game: 7:05 tonight at Cajundome.

Records: ASU 14-13, 8-4; UL 10-14, 7-5.
Coaches: ASU, John Brady (325-260); UL, Bob Marlin (356-180).
Last meeting: ASU 74-65 on Jan. 13 in Jonesboro, Ark.
Series history: UL leads 42-20.
Leaders: ASU "” Martavius Adams (11.8 pts, 7.0 rebs); Donald Boone (10.5 pts, 3.1 rebs); Daniel Bryant (10.2 pts, 1.9 rebs); UL "” Travis Bureau (10.5 pts, 6.6 rebs); J.J. Thomas (10.5 pts, 6.6 rebs); Josh Brown (11.2 pts, 5.1 rebs); La’Ryan Gary (9.4 pts, 2.8 rebs).

Now that UL took care of business last week on the road to stretch its winning streak to seven games, it’s time to play again in the Cajundome

Sun Belt Conference West Division co-leader Arkansas State will be in Lafayette at 7:05 p.m. today to play the third-place Ragin’ Cajuns, and UL senior forward Travis Bureau is happy to be back at home.

Playing in front of nice crowds in the Cajundome has something to do with that. The Cajuns have an average home attendance this season of 3,130 – the highest for the program since the 2007-08 season (4,121). They’re averaging 4,256 fans in the past three home games, conference wins over Arkansas-Little Rock, North Texas and UL Monroe.

"I love when we go to the games, and they’re packed," Bureau said. "The crowd is like our sixth man. We really appreciate all of the fans."

Coming off Saturday’s 72-64 win at league leader Florida Atlantic, UL (10-14, 7-5 Sun Belt) will look to win its eighth straight game for the first time since the 2003-04 season. To do so the Cajuns will have to beat the Red Wolves (14-13, 8-4), a club that is 7-3 over the past month.

Arkansas State, which has won four straight conference games, started its recent run with a 74-65 win over the Cajuns on Jan. 12 in Jonesboro. The Red Wolves outshot UL 53.7 to 41.4 percent that night. UL trailed by 15 points midway through the first half and eventually pulled within five with three minutes left but never got any closer.

Freshman forward J.J. Thomas led the Cajuns with 16 point and 10 rebounds in the loss. Sophomore center Javan Mitchell scored 10 of his career-high 12 points in the first half. Freshman guard Bryant Mbamalu added 11 points and six rebounds.

Arkansas State, under the direction of former Crowley High and LSU coach John Brady, got 17 points and seven rebounds from junior forward/center Martavius Adams. Senior guard Donald Boone had 16 points and three steals.

UL has won six of the past seven head-to-head meetings and holds a definite home-court advantage. While the Cajuns are 7-4 this season at home, Arkansas State is 3-13 outside of Jonesboro.

"I think they’ve done a great job this year," first-year UL coach Bob Marlin said of Arkansas State. "He (Brady) has got a good staff and good players. They’re tough, and they’ve got a good team."

Junior guard Josh Brown leads UL in scoring this season at 11.2 points per game, while Thomas and Bureau add 10.5 points apiece. Thomas and Bureau are tied for the team lead in rebounding (6.6 per game).

Adams tops Arkansas State in scoring (11.7 ppg) and rebounds (6.9 rpg). Boone averages 10.9 points a night.

Senior guard Rashad Allison averages four assists per game. Sophomore guard Trey Finn (8.5 ppg, 5.1 rpg) and freshman forward Brandon Peterson (8.2 ppg, 5.5 rpg) are also quality players.

"Arkansas State has some talented big men," Bureau said. "Their five man (Adams) is going to be a tough guard for us. Their four man (Peterson) has a really nice mid-range game, and their guards are talented and can shoot the ball."

After losing to Arkansas State last month, UL fell at UALR, 73-68, on Jan. 15. The Cajuns then blasted Centenary, 94-62, four days later to start their seven-game winning streak.

Now they can extend that streak against Arkansas State. That will be followed with home games on Saturday against Western Kentucky (11-13, 6-6) and next Thursday against Denver (12-13, 8-4) before closing out the regular season at ULM (6-21, 1-12) on Feb. 26.

With a strong finish — and a little bit of help — the Cajuns could clinch the league’s West Division title and a first-round bye in the conference tournament.

There’s also a chance that they could win the Sun Belt’s regular-season championship with only FAU (18-9, 10-3) and Middle Tennessee (14-12, 9-4) with better conference records in the East Division.

"This is our push right here," Marlin said. "We need to make something happen. We’ve played well and put ourselves in a position to do something good."

Extra points

UL is 42-20 in the all-time series against Arkansas State "» UL junior forward Scottie Farrington (abdominals) and senior forward La’Ryan Gary (knee) did not practice Wednesday "» Farrington is considered doubtful tonight. He went scoreless in two minutes of action at FAU "» Gary is expected to play. He had 15 points and five rebounds against FAU.

Athletic Network Footnote:

Click here for the photo gallery of the Jan. 21-22, 2011 Basketball Reunion

Click here for the January 18, 2003 Basketball Reunion

Click here for the Nov. 1-2, 2001 Shipley Basketball Reunion

Rebounders Club Meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 22nd…noon, Abacus Station, 510 W. Pinhook Rd….lunch is $13
Geaux Cajuns, Karren Hays 288-2163