Alan-Michael Thompson had some time recently to think.

About being the UL basketball team’s lone senior. About breaking with the past, and focusing forward. About the best way he can help.

The result was a career-high 18 points in a win last Tuesday night over Lamar for the 4-6 Ragin’ Cajuns, who continue a stretch of five straight non-conference games with a visit tonight to 7-2 Houston of Conference USA.

"He’s worked hard in practice," Cajuns coach said Thompson, who is averaging 5.6 points and 1.4 rebounds this season after averaging 3.9 points in 10.3 minutes during his first year at UL a season ago.

"He knew that he’d made a mistake a couple weeks ago," Marlin added, "and he’s worked hard."

The backup shooting guard was suspended two games for undisclosed disciplinary reasons earlier this season, missing a key Sun Belt Conference home loss to Middle Tennessee and a Sun Belt road win at North Texas.

The shelving served to stir Thompson, who became the career scoring leader at Brunswick Community College in Bolivia, N.C., after posting 1,027 points in two seasons.

"It gave me a little more confidence, knowing I have to come back and have a big game — just to prove a lot of people wrong," he said. "So I just came in (last Tuesday), hit shots. I give the credit to my teammates for finding and give me good passes for me to shoot."

In his second game back, Thompson shot 5-for-9 from the field against Lamar, including 4-for-7 from 3-point range — all "good shots," according to Marlin.

The 2-guard showed confidence that hasn’t always been present this season, but evidently was rediscovered along the way by hoisting up plenty of shots —and developing some rhythm — both before and after practices.

It isn’t just what he’s done on offense since sitting out, though, that’s impressed Marlin.

"He played well (in a loss last Saturday night at McNeese State)," the Cajun coach said. "I left him on the floor (in Saturday’s second half) because he’s really doing a good job defensively.

"But he’s a guy that’s capable of coming in and scoring in bunches, and he was able to do that (Tuesday)."

Thompson, from Florence, S.C., had four double-figure scoring games as a reserve last season, including 16 points in a mid-December win over NAIA Dilliard and 14 in a Sun Belt win at Arkansas-Little Rock.

He opened three of this season’s first four games at shooting guard, then lost his starting job to true freshman Steven Wronkoski.

Since then the Cajuns have looked to Thompson for both defense and a scoring punch off a bench that, until putting up 30 in the Lamar game, struggled to consistently produce offensively this season.

"We’re gonna need everybody on our team," Thompson said.

"Coach Marlin told us our bench wasn’t producing that much, so I sort of had a talk with the bench and told them we just have to play as hard as we can.

"We have to help the team out," he added. "And we did (last Tuesday), and we got a win."

Before Thompson spoke up, though, he first had to sit down.

The short suspension came on the heels of a hectic offseason for the Cajuns.

As one of just four players on this season’s roster who also played last season at UL, he has ties to several ex-Cajuns — including some who left on their own accord, and some who were pushed out.

"During that time it’s a tough situation," Thompson said. "But you just have to move on, and just remain strong."

The time of transition evidently was especially hard for Thompson, who — with an assist from one of those ex-teammates, 2011-12 senior Darshawn McClellan — has tried to put on blinders and look only ahead.

"He (McClellan) told me I just have to step up. "» Just try to help, and do my best to lead these guys to get some wins and have a great season," Thompson said.

"In a situation like (UL’s), it would be best to kind of put your (current) teammates before you. I know they have a lot more years to go, so I just want to get them ready and prepare them for the future. "» Knowing that I’ve been in the system for two years, that’s my role — to help them out."

If Thompson can do just that, Marlin is all for it.

The Cajun coach is all about looking forward as well.

"Once something’s done it’s done, and you’ve got to move forward and think ‘next.’" Marlin said. "’NBA: Next Best Action.’ That’s what we tell the guys."