Men's Basketball | 1/27/2016 7:02:00 PM

SAN MARCOS, Texas – A tough stretch of four consecutive road games for the Texas State men's basketball team begins Thursday night at 7:15 p.m. at UL Lafayette in the Cajundome, one of the most difficult places to play in the Sun Belt Conference.
 
The Bobcats (9-7, 3-4 SBC) have dropped all six previous meetings to the Ragin Cajuns (9-8, 5-3 SBC). Last year saw ULL ended Texas State's season in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament by the score of 53-43. In three games in Lafayette, the closest game for the Bobcats was a one-point game on Dec. 8, 1959.
 
In SBC play, Ethan Montalvo is averaging a team-high 15.0 points and is making 3.3 three-pointers per game. Kavin Gilder-Tilbury has tallied 14.0 ppg with 13 treys and a team-high 52.0 three-point shooting percentage. Emani Gant enters the game averaging 11.4 points and 6.7 rebounds per contest.
 
Cameron Naylor has tallied 11.0 ppg with a 51.2 percentage from the floor over his last five games. He has made 3-of-4 attempts from beyond the arc including one to open the game on his way to his career day Saturday.
 
Following his eight-assist performance against Arkansas State, Ojai Black increased his assist average to 3.1 per game. The senior guard ranks fifth in the SBC with a 1.8 assist-to-turnover ratio.
 
The Bobcats are allowing 62.2 points per contest, the 13th fewest in the nation. They have a +3.5 turnover margin and force 16.13 turnovers per game that rank 16th and 19th in the country, respectively.
 
Shawn Long, the preseason SBC Player of the Year, is living up to expectations this season. He enters Thursday averaging 18.7 points, 12.6 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game and is shooting a team best 53.1 percent from the field. The biggest weakness for the senior forward is at the free throw line, where he is making just 65.4 percent of his attempts.
 
Kasey Shepherd is the only other player averaging double-digit points at 12.1 per contest. He leads the team with 31 treys, 30 steals, 35.2 three-point percentage and 87.5 free throw percentage.
 
The floor general is Jay Wright dishing out 3.8 apg and contributes 9.4 ppg and 2.9 rpg. He is second on the squad with 19 steals.
 
ULL leads the conference in scoring offense (82.0) and second in rebounding (41.6). The Ragin' Cajuns are making 43.5 percent of their shots bur have hit on just 29.9 percent from beyond the arc.
 
The game will be broadcast over the air waves on 1300 The Zone (1300 AM) and 89.9 FM with Bill Culhane on the call. Live stats, audio and video will be available with links on the Bobcats men's basketball schedule page at www.txstatebobcats.com, the official website of Texas State Athletics.