Men’s Basketball: Long Earns Pair Of Basketball Weekly Awards

LAFAYETTE – Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns basketball standout Shawn Long capped off an impressive week as he was named on Monday as the Sun Belt Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Week in a release by the league office.
 
Long, a 6-foot-11 senior, was also named the College Sports Madness/Sun Belt Men’s Basketball Player of the Week.
 
In a pair of road games for the Ragin’ Cajuns, Long averaged 27.0 points, 16.5 rebounds, 4.5 blocks and 1.5 assists, highlighted by his second 20-point, 20-rebound performance of his career. Long, the current Sun Belt Conference leader in scoring (19.4), rebounds (13.2) and blocked shots (1.9), recorded a pair of double-doubles last week, increasing his season total to 21 and his career total to 73.
 
Long opened the week with season-highs of 29 points and 20 rebounds in a come-from-behind 73-63 win at Troy on Thursday. Long scored 18 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in the second half as the Ragin’ Cajuns erased a 12-point halftime deficit. He swatted five shots against the Trojans, increasing his career total to 260 and surpassing Michael Southall (258, 2001-06) as the school’s all-time leader.
 
He closed out the weekend with 25 points, 13 boards and four blocked shots in an 83-70 loss at South Alabama. The double-double was the 73rd in his career, moving him past Don May (Dayton) and Bill Walton (UCLA) into sole possession of 14th place on the NCAA career list.
 
Long, who is already the Sun Belt Conference’s all-time leading rebounder (1,393), increased his scoring total to 2,224 points, passing South Alabama’s Jeff Hodge (1985-89) for fourth-place on the SBC’s all-time scoring list. His 264 career blocked shots is three shy of passing UAB’s Alan Ogg (1986-90) for second-place on the league’s all-time list.
 
Louisiana (15-12, 11-7 SBC) will return to action on Thursday (March 3) when it faces league rival Georgia State (15-12, 8-10 SBC) in a 7:15 p.m. contest at the Cajundome. The Ragin’ Cajuns will then close out the regular-season at home on March 5 when it faces Georgia Southern in a 7:15 p.m. contest.