LAKE CHARLES – One of the most storied rivalries in the state of Louisiana will tip-off for the 90^th time on Saturday night when McNeese hosts Louisiana-Lafayette at 7 p.m. in Burton Coliseum.
 
The Cowboys (3-2) are coming off a 74-63 win over Southern-New Orleans on Wednesday to improve their record to a perfect 3-0 at home. Meanwhile ULL (3-3) defeated Jackson State by a 76-53 score on Wednesday and beat former Southland foe Oral Roberts, 76-52, prior to that game.
 
The two teams have been playing each other since the early 1950s and were once fierce rivals when playing as foes in the Southland Conference. ULL left the league in the early 1980s and the series halted for several years before picking back up in the 1990s.
 
The rivalry will not be the only thing showcased on Saturday. A battle of two big men could take center stage as well when McNeese's Austin Lewis, a 6-foot-8 forward and the nation's No. 1 shot blocker, will go up against ULL's 6-9 center in Shawn Long who entered the season as a potential NBA Lottery selection in the 2015 draft.
 
Lewis missed Wednesday's game against SUNO after suffering a mild ankle injury at LSU but he's expected to be back in the lineup on Saturday. He'll enter the game averaging 6 points and 3.8 rebounds to go along with a 5.3 blocks per game average.
 
Long, who has missed two games this season to injury, is averaging 9.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per contest in four games played.
 
The Cajuns are led in scoring by Brian Williams' 12.7 points followed by Devonta Walker with an 11.5 average. As a team, ULL is averaging 70.3 points a game and is knocking down 47 percent of its shots from the field.
 
Desharick Guidry is averaging a double-double on the season with team highs in points (17.4) and rebounds (11.4). The senior from Lake Charles has recorded four straight double-double games and is coming off a career-high game with 15 rebounds to go along with 19 points against SUNO.
 
Sophomore point guard Jamaya Burr is averaging 10.6 ppg and is the team leader with 5.4 assists per game while Kevin Hardy is sinking 10.4 points with 6.8 rebounds and 3.0 steals per game.
 
Those three players combined are averaging 30.3 points a game the last two outings.
 
ULL won last year's game by a 92-66 victory in Lafayette behind 29 points and 15 rebounds from Long.
 
The Cajuns lead the all-time series by a 55-34 margin.