LAFAYETTE, La. -- Chris Beard emerged from the locker room seemingly unaffected by the end of the UALR men's basketball team's winning streak late Thursday night.
Louisiana-Monroe handed UALR its first loss since Jan. 18 and trimmed the Trojans' lead in the Sun Belt Conference to just one game when it scored more points and shot a better percentage from the floor than any opponent had this season in an 86-82 victory.
UALR men at Louisiana-Lafayette
WHEN 4:15 p.m. Central
WHERE Cajundome, Lafayette, La.
RECORDS UALR 21-3, 11-2 Sun Belt; Louisiana-Lafayette 14-8, 10-3
SERIES Louisiana-Lafayette leads 25-19
RADIO KKPT-FM, 94.1, in Little Rock
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
UALR
POS. NAME, HT, YR PPG RPG
G Josh Hagins, 6-1, Sr. 12.7 4.2
G Kemy Osse, 6-1, Jr. 5.7 2.4
G Marcus Johnson Jr., 5-11, Jr. 12.9 2.8
F Roger Woods, 6-5, Sr. 8.6 4.0
F Lis Shoshi, 6-11, Jr. 6.8 5.4
COACH Chris Beard (21-3 in first season at UALR, 87-28 in fourth season overall)
LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE
POS. NAME, HT, YR PPG RPG
G Jay Wright, 6-1, Jr. 9.5 3.2
G Steven Wronkoski, 6-5, Sr. 4.0 2.2
G Johnathan Stove, 6-4, So. 8.9 3.3
F Bryce Washington, 6-6, So. 7.9 4.7
F Shawn Long, 6-11, Sr. 19.2 13.0
COACH Bob Marlin (102-85 in fifth season at Louisiana-Lafayette, 327-216 in 18th overall)
TEAM COMPARISON
UALR ULL
70.9 Points for 82.1
58.4 Points against 73.5
+0.6 Rebound margin +8.3
+4.0 Turnover margin +0.0
44.6 FG pct. 45.6
37.2 3-pt. pct. 31.3
73.4 FT pct. 69.3
CHALK TALK UALR was held to 6-for-21 threepoint shooting in Thursday’s loss, its lowest percentage since a Dec. 22 loss at Texas Tech. The Trojans have made 44.6 percent of their threes (86-for-193) in victories and 30.0 percent (21-for-70) in losses. … UALR fell to 9-3 on the road this season after Thursday’s loss. Louisiana-Lafayette is 11-0 at home this season.
UALR's first-year coach wasn't pleased with how it played defensively, particularly in the post and first half, and Beard thought his team was too hurried at times on offense. But he spent time joking with a friend outside the Trojans' locker room at Fant-Ewing Coliseum, then maintained confidence in his team as it reaches a critical stretch.
"Panic is for people that don't work hard," Beard said. "I think we've proven we work pretty hard."
Today's work will not get easier for the Trojans (21-3, 11-2 Sun Belt), who face the Sun Belt's hottest team, Louisiana-Lafayette (14-8, 10-3), at 4 p.m. at the Cajundome.
Since losing at UALR and Arkansas State in the span of three days last month, the Ragin' Cajuns have won nine consecutive games and are 11-0 at home this season. A UALR loss would mean the teams are tied atop the Sun Belt standings; a victory would put two games between it and the rest of the league and complete a season sweep of the Ragin' Cajuns.
Beard doesn't anticipate the need for any large-scale changes.
"We've won 21 games this year, it's not like we change what we're doing," he said. "We've just got to get back to the drawing board, and get our guys tighter. I like our players. I believe in them, and I don't have any doubts that we'll bounce back."
Players have the same outlook, said forward Mareik Isom, who said they got away from the game plan Thursday night.
"We just have to get some rest, regroup and make sure we follow the scout and follow the game plan," Isom said . "Just go play well for 40 minutes on Saturday and see how it goes."
A good start for UALR would be getting its defense back on track against the league's best offensive team.
Led by forward Shawn Long, who is averaging 19.2 points, the Ragin' Cajuns are averaging a league-best 82.1 points per game and 83.7 in their nine-game winning streak. UALR held Louisiana-Lafayette to its lowest point total of the season in a 77-57 victory Jan. 7. Long had 16 in that game, but only one other player had 10 or more.
The Ragin' Cajuns have been more balanced as of late, with three players having scored 12 or more in seven of their last nine games. Coach Bob Marlin said Long's inside scoring combined with three-point shooting from Kasey Shepard and Hayward Register is what he expected before the season.
Instead, inconsistent shooting led to close losses at Louisiana-Monroe, Louisiana Tech and Pepperdine.
"We're making some shots," Marlin said Friday. "If we would have done that all year, we would have won some of those games. We certainly felt like we were good enough to win some of those games."
The Ragin' Cajuns have been of late, which has led to their rise up the Sun Belt standings. Now they're in position to pull even at the top of the standings with seven games remaining.
"We say it all the time, the next game is the big game," Marlin said. "But, this truly is, if we're going to contend in this thing, it's big for that reason."
Offensively, UALR's Thursday output is good enough to contend. The Trojans shot 46.2 percent, and their 82 points were their most against a Sun Belt team this season. They did struggle from the three-point line, making 6 of 21, a similar output to their two previous losses.
UALR has made 30 percent of its threes in its losses and 44.6 percent in its victories.
"I thought we pressed a little bit," Beard said. "It's not for lack of effort. Guys are trying so hard, and they want to make a play."
Sports on 02/13/2016