He played 29 minutes in Wednesday night’s win over Southern University New Orleans, and even UL Ragin’ Cajuns coach Bob Marlin said afterward that’s a lot of time for a freshman.

Especially a true freshman.

But Hammond-St. Thomas Aquinas product Steven Wronkoski made the most of most of them, going 4-of-9 from the field and 4-of-5 from the free-throw line en route to an early career-high 12 points for the 2-2 Cajuns.

He also pulled down five rebounds, one shy of the career-high six he’s recorded twice already.

"He got tired late, and missed a free throw, and then missed a backdoor opportunity — just shot it short," Marlin said. "But he made a couple big plays on offensive rebounds and stickbacks, and he got a couple big rebounds for us on the defensive end."

The 6-foot-5 swingman showed deceptive strength down low against SUNO, but Marlin wasn’t surprised to see it all from a hustle player who also played football as a senior in high school.

"He’s a very tough competitor, a smart and heady guy," said Marlin, whose Cajuns visit New Mexico State tonight.

Wronkoski, for his part, suggests he does not mind mixing things up inside whatsoever.

"In high school," he said, "that’s what I did a lot, so I’m used it."

On the boards

UL barely won the rebounding battle with SUNO 41-40 behind a team-high 12 from center Shawn Long, and the Cajuns got beat on the boards 25-17 in Wednesday’s opening half.

"We blocked out, (but) we didn’t chase the ball," Marlin said. "We had a couple block-outs, but we turned and looked to see who was gonna go get it.

"Shawn (Long) did a nice job at times, especially in the first half, defensively rebounding the ball, and then he got a couple offensive boards in the second half," the Cajun coach added. "But we tend to stand and watch Shawn rebound the ball instead of chasing it. That’s something we’ve got to improve on."

Mbamalu’s challenge

When Marlin brought starting small forward Bryant Mbamalu off the bench to open Wednesday’s second half, he responded by hitting all three of his trey tries after the break.

"I challenged him," Marlin said, "and he answered. I knew he would. He’s done it before."

"It was a nice lift," Cajun point guard Elfrid Payton added, "especially because we couldn’t knock one down."

Mbamalu finished 3-for-4 from behind the 3-point Wednesday; the rest of the Cajuns were a combined 0-for-13.

Looking ahead

The key to improvement for UL, Cajun guard Kevin Brown suggested this week, is learning from its early season miscues.

"We’re not gonna look over anything," he said. "We have to correct our mistakes.

"We want to be a great team," the transfer from Tulane added. "And if we want to be playing in March (after the Sun Belt Conference Tournament), that’s what we’re gonna have to do."