Ragin' Cajuns pull out 12-10 victory over Cowboys

LAFAYETTE — The UL Lafayette men’s basketball team has been picked to finish near the top of the Sun Belt Conference.

The SBC released its 2018-19 Coaches’ Preseason Poll and Preseason All-Conference teams on Thursday. The Ragin’ Cajuns, who went a school-record 27-7 overall last season and won the regular season SBC title, were selected to finish tied for second out of 12 teams by the league’s coaches.

The defending SBC Tournament champion Georgia State earned the top spot in the preseason poll, followed by the Cajuns and Georgia Southern who were tied for second. UL Monroe and Troy meanwhile were tied for fourth, followed by Appalachian State, South Alabama, Texas State, Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina, UT Arlington and Little Rock.

Ragin’ Cajuns senior JaKeenan Gant was named to the preseason team as he was selected to the second team. The 6-foot-8 forward is coming off a season in which he averaged 13.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game to earn SBC Newcomer of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Fellow Cajun senior Marcus Stroman was also named to the preseason team as he was selected to the third team. The 6-foot-2 guard is coming off a junior season in which he was second in the SBC in assists per game (6.5), while leading the conference in assist/turnover ratio (2.2), and his 213 assists last season were the fourth-most by a play in program history.

Both Gant and Stroman played in their first seasons for the Cajuns last year as each player was forced to sit out the 2016-17 season due to the NCAA Transfer Rule. Gant began his college career playing at the University of Missouri while Stroman started out at the University of South Carolina — both in the Southeastern Conference.

The Ragin’ Cajuns officially open the season inside the Cajundome on Tuesday, Nov. 6 against the University of the Virgin Islands. Tip is scheduled for 7:15 p.m.

 

2018-19 Sun Belt Conference Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Preseason honors

All-Sun Belt First Team

Tookie Brown, Georgia Southern (Sr., G, Madison, Ga.)

Travis Munnings, ULM (Sr., F, Freeport, Bahamas)

Ronshad Shabazz, Appalachian State (Sr., G, Raleigh, N.C.)

D’Marcus Simonds, Georgia State (Jr., G, Gainesville, Ga.)

Jordon Varnado, Troy (Sr., F, Brownsville, Tenn.)

 

All-Sun Belt Second Team

Zac Cuthbertson, Coastal Carolina (Sr., F, New Bern, N.C.)

JaKennan Gant, UL Lafayette (Sr., F, Springfield, Ga.)

Devin Mitchell, Georgia State (Sr., G, Suwanee, Ga.)

Nijal Pearson, Texas State (Jr., G, Beaumont, Texas)

Rodrick Sikes, South Alabama (Sr., G, Ocean Springs, Miss.)

 

All-Sun Belt Third Team

Josh Ajayi, South Alabama (Jr., F, El Monte, Calif.)

Ty Cockfield II, Arkansas State (Sr., G, Gainesville, Ga.)

Michael Ertel, ULM (So., G, Indianapolis, Ind.)

Ike Smith, Georgia Southern (Sr., G, Gainesville, Fla.)

Marcus Stroman, UL Lafayette (Sr., G, Columbia, S.C.)

 

2018-19 Sun Belt Conference Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Preseason Player of the Year:

D’Marcus Simonds, Georgia State (Jr., G, Gainesville, Ga.)

 

2018-19 Sun Belt Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Preseason Poll

(first-place votes in parentheses)

 

1. Georgia State – 144 (12)

2. UL Lafayette – 125

   Georgia Southern – 125

4. UL Monroe – 89

   Troy – 89

6. Appalachian State – 86

7. South Alabama – 80

8. Texas State – 67

9. Arkansas State – 42

10. Coastal Carolina – 40

11. UTA – 33

12. Little Rock – 16