Aggies looking for redemption at UL-Laf

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The New Mexico State men?s basketball coaches call Louisiana-Lafayette the most talented team in the Sun Belt Conference.

Tonight in Lafayette, the Aggies hope to get some momentum before next month?s Sun Belt Conference Tournament, with a road win.

The Aggies (5-19, 1-10) have lost six straight, while UL-Lafayette (15-8, 9-2) has won 9 of 10.

?UL-Lafayette is as good as it wants to be,? head coach Tony Stubblefield said. ?They are really athletic and they are very difficult to beat at home.?

Assistant Coach Chris Crutchfield agrees, but also said the Ragin? Cajuns have a tendancy to keep teams in games too long.

?They?re one of those teams that will let you hang around,? Crutchfield said, adding that he hopes the Aggies will be able to exploit ULL?s lack of killer instinct.

The last time the two teams met, Jan. 20 in Las Cruces, the Aggies lost 89-79 in overtime. In that contest, it was NMSU?s lack of a killer instinct that allowed ULL to stay in the game and eventually notch a come-from-ehind victory.

The Aggies led 42-31 at halftime, but the Ragin? Cajuns made 21 of 35 from the field in the second half and overtime to pull out the win.

?We changed up defenses on them and it worked at times,? Stubblefield said. ?Against Lafayette you have to change up defenses and try to slow them down.?

The Ragin? Cajuns are led by guard Tiras Wade and forward Brian Hamilton. Wade is third in the league in scoring at a 19.2 per game clip, while Hamilton is averaging 13.8 points and 7.9 rebounds per game.

?Tiras Wade can really shoot the ball well,? Aggie guard Mike Mitchell said. ?We have to defend and rebound well. In the first meeting, we did some good things and got some good looks at the basket. We have to find ways to finish and get back on the winning track.?

Mitchell led the Aggies with 23 points in the first meeting, while forwards Duane John and Jeff Jones and 15 and 12 points respectively.

Louisiana-Lafayette is third in league play in scoring at 73 points a game, while allowing the second fewest at 65. The Aggies are seventh in the league in scoring (67.3), while ninth in points allowed (73.7).

?Louisiana-Lafayette has a lot of different people that can score and do different things,? Stubblefield said. ?We have to be effective offensively and not turn the ball over.?


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Notes: The Aggies have lost three of five games by five points or less... Louisiana-Lafayette leads the all-time series against NMSU 10-2... Aggie point guard Josh Jenkins has led the Aggies in assists 13 times this season.

 

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ULL seeks to maintain share of SBC lead


LAFAYETTE -- The shooting rhythm of Tiras Wade is similar to the mixture of sounds he blends while in the music studio.

Wade's offensive game has been an eclectic blend of long range jump shots, and smooth moves at medium distance and around the basket.

The result is a team-leading 19.2-points per game for a University of Louisiana at Lafayette basketball team trying to repeat as division champion.

Wade's offense will again be critical for ULL at 7:05 p.m. today when Sun Belt Conference opponent New Mexico State visits the Cajundome.

ULL (15-8, 9-2) is tied with Denver for the West Division lead with four regular-season games remaining.

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NMSU (5-19, 1-10) brought last month's matchup to overtime before losing to ULL (89-79).

In women's action, ULL's division-leading Lady Cajuns (17-7, 7-4) visit second-place North Texas (11-12, 6-5).

Wade, a junior from Tampa, Fla., is a music business major who hopes to become a recording industry executive.

A pianist since he was 4, Wade spends most of his school time creating rhythms and beats in the studio.

"I would like one day to produce my own label. I don't want to be a recording artist, but I want to be more of a behind the scenes kind of guy, using my musical background," said Wade.

Wade said he prefers some of the MoTown oldies and songs that are soulful and show emotion.

He also enjoys rap music and since coming to Louisiana, Wade has been introduced to Cajun and zydeco music.

"In my classes where we create beats and study sounds, I've gotten more than my share of listening to zydeco," said Wade.

"During the past several years since coming down here, I've really broadened my horizons as far as types of music."

Wade said he enjoys his unique personality which is reflected in a hairstyle that he says is a combination of braids and dreadlocks.

"I didn't want hair like everyone else was wearing, so I sort of created my own thing with the hair," Wade said.

Wade's on-the-court hair is pushed to the rear of his head with a band that sends his braids down the rear of his neck.

"It might look difficult to do, but it really only takes about 20 minutes to fix my hair for a game.

"I've got a girl who can do the hair in about 20 minutes. I just want it to look different, because I don't like to do everything like everyone else," he said.

Wade transferred two years ago from East Tennessee State, picking the Cajuns because of their projected talent level.

"When I wanted to transfer, I looked at a few schools and I saw (ULL) was a place where a lot of guys had transferred in from other schools," said Wade.

"They had Orien (Greene), Wayne (DeWayne Mitchell) and (Michael (Southall).

"I said this was the place I needed to be, because they were planning to be something special. They were having all that talent come in."

Greene transferred to ULL from Florida, while Mitchell came to Lafayette after playing at Auburn.

Southall played two years at ULL before being sent back to Wisconsin last year to serve jail time because of a parole violation.

ULL basketball coach Robert Lee said Southall is currently serving the remainder of his jail time under home incarceration and could return to Lafayette sometime next month.

Wade said most of his scoring has come from just inside the free throw line, but while sitting out a year under the NCAA transfer rule, he has developed a long-range game too.

From 3-point range, Wade averages nearly 42 percent, while averaging 6.1 rebounds.

"I was told in high school that if I wanted to play in college, I would have to develop my jump shot and now it's hard not to fall in love with the 3-point shot," Wade said.

His best game came in December at North Carolina State when he scored 37, while in SBC contests, he added 28 against South Alabama.

The NMSU is the third in ULL's four-game homestand that ends Saturday against North Texas.