Little Rock Looks to Rebound at Louisiana on Saturday

GM25: Little Rock (21-3, 11-2 SBC) at Louisiana (14-8, 10-3 SBC)
Saturday, Feb. 13 | 4:15 p.m. (CST)
Lafayette, La. | Cajundome (11,550)
Radio: The Point 94.1 FM / KKPT.com
Talent: Ray Tucker (PxP)
Live Stats | Live Video | Game Notes
 
LITTLE ROCK – Little Rock will look to bounce back from Thusday's loss at ULM when it takes on Preseason Sun Belt favorite Louisiana at the Cajundome on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 4:15 p.m.
 
The Trojans will need to win Saturday's game to maintain sole possession of first place in the Sun Belt Conference standings. Winners of nine straight, Louisiana is 14-8 overall and 10-3 in Sun Belt Conference play. The Cajuns' last loss came at Arkansas State on Jan. 9.
 
In Little Rock's 86-82 loss at ULM on Thursday, the Warhawks set new season highs for points scored and field goal percentage (.509) for a Little Rock opponent. The Trojans shot 46.1 percent from the floor and finished with three more made field goals than ULM, but couldn't overcome the Warhawks' eight made treys and 24 made free throws.
 
With 19 points in the loss at ULM, Josh Hagins moved into sixth place on Little Rock's career scoring list. He is now 29 points shy of matching Larry Johnson (1975-78) for fifth place on the Trojans' all-time list.
 
The Cajuns, who are 11-0 at home this season, are averaging 82.1 points per game to lead the Sun Belt Conference. In league games, UL boasts a +10.2 scoring margin.
 
Preseason Sun Belt Conference Student-Athlete of the Year Shawn Long leads the Cajuns with 19.2 points and 13.0 rebounds per game. Kasey Shepherd is scoring 11.3 ppg while shooting 40.0 percent from beyond the arc in 3-point games.
 
In the teams' first meeting this season on Jan. 7, Little Rock used a strong defensive effort to pull away from Louisiana for a 77-57 win at the Jack Stephens Center. The Ragin' Cajuns were held to a season-low 57 points on 32.2 percent shooting from the floor.
 
Little Rock's lead was 49-45 with 12:13 left in regulation, but used a 13-2 run to push its advantage to 62-47 with 6:51 to play. The Trojans' lead grew as large as 22 after Deondre Burns' steal and finish put Little Rock up 77-55 with under a minute to play.
 
Little Rock finished the game shooting 40.0 percent and put four players in double figures. Roger Woods led the way with 16 points and six rebounds while Lis Shoshi and Marcus Johnson Jr. both added 12 points. Hagins scored 11 points while totaling seven rebounds and six assists.
 
Louisiana leads 25-19 in the all-time series. The Cajuns had won three straight in the series prior to Little Rock's win on Jan. 7.
 
Quick Hits
• Little Rock is off to its best start in program history, and only Maryland at 22-3 (.880) boasts a better win percentage than the Trojans (.875).
• Little Rock recently secured its first 20-win season since 2008-09, and 10th in its Division I history.
• Little Rock is 11-0 at home and has won an arena-record 13 straight games at the Jack Stephens Center.
• Little Rock is tied for third nationally with nine true road victories.
• Little Rock is off to its first-ever 11-2 start to Sun Belt play and is in sole possession of first place in the conference standings.
• Little Rock's scoring defense ranks first nationally (58.4 ppg) and its defensive FG% (.376) ranks fifth.
• Little Rock is ninth nationally in turnover margin (4.0) and ranks 22nd in turnovers per game (10.7).
• Little Rock leads the SBC in scoring defense, defensive FG%, turnovers per game, turnover margin and scoring margin.
• ­­Head coach Chris Beard comes to Little Rock after two seasons at Angelo State, where he went 47-15 and led ASU to the 2015 NCAA Division II Sweet Sixteen and No. 19 national ranking in 2014-15.