SAN MARCOS, Texas – Michael Ertel scored 16 of his game-high 18 points in the second half as ULM tried to rally from a 14-point deficit, but Texas State made enough plays down the stretch Thursday (Jan. 18) to extend its Sun Belt winning streak to six games, 55-52. Nijal Pearson and Tre'Larenz Nottingham combined for 33 points to pace the Bobcats.
 
ULM jumped out to a 6-1 lead on Sam McDaniel's 3-pointer from the left wing in transition with 16:47 left in the first half. Texas State (13-7, 6-1 Sun Belt) claimed its first lead at 13-12 on Pearson's 3-pointer from the right wing with 8:42 remaining in the first half. The Warhawks regained the lead at 14-13 on Marvin Jean-Pierre's jumper in the lane at the 6:53 mark, but ULM missed its next six shots from the field and went scoreless for the next 4:56 as Texas State moved out to an 18-14 lead. Kiir Deng's rebound basket at the first-half buzzer cut ULM's deficit to 23-21 at the intermission.
 
Texas State opened the second half with an 8-3 spurt to take a 31-24 lead on Pearson's 3-pointer from the top of the circle. Nottingham's 3-pointer from the left wing sparked a 13-4 run as the Bobcats extended their lead to 44-30 on Isaiah Gurley's 3-pointer from the left baseline with 12:00 remaining. Texas State equaled its largest lead at 46-32 on two free throws by Eric Terry with 10:56 on the clock. ULM (7-10, 1-5) answered with a 16-4 run and pulled to within two at 50-48 on Jean-Pierre's 3-pointer from the left corner with 4:16 left. Ertel scored nine-straight points and accounted for 11 total during that 6:25 stretch. McDaniel missed a potential game-tying jumper from the top of the key on the Warhawks' next possession. Texas State got back-to-back layups from Immanuel King and Alex Peacock to push its lead back to six at 54-48 with 1:16 remaining. ULM made only 1-of-4 free-throw attempts in the final 12 seconds.
 
"I'm proud of guys not throwing in the towel in the second half," ULM head basketball coach Keith Richard said. "Texas State hit its first three shots of the second half, and we called timeout to stop the bleeding. There have been times this season when the team got down (by double figure) and they guys put their heads down, but they didn't this time.
 
"The group of five – Brandon Newman, Michael Ertel, Marvin Jean-Pierre, Travis Munnings and Kiir Deng – really got us back into the game with their defensive effort. That group did the job on both ends of the floor. Those defensive stops also provided better offensive opportunities.
 
"There we a lot of positives in the second half, but we didn't make enough plays down the stretch (to win the game)."
 
Pearson led the Bobcats with 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field, including 3-of-6 from behind the 3-point arc. Nottingham hit 5-of-7 3-pointers and finished with 16 points.
 
Ertel matched his season-high with 18 points (previous vs. Southeastern Louisiana) on 7-of-13 shooting from the floor. Two other Warhawks scored in double figures, as McDaniel and Jean-Pierre added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
 
"Michael Ertel did an outstanding job during a long stretch in the second half," Richard said. "It was nice to see somebody hit four shots in a row, and they weren't all 3-pointers either. Michael hit some mid-range jumpers and finished a drive to the basket. Texas State adjusted and started face-guarding him, so he had a harder time getting space and open looks. Down the stretch, we needed someone else to step up.
 
"Travis Munnings and Sam McDaniel had some good looks, but shots didn't go for our two leading scorers. They had an off-night shooting the basketball, and we certainly needed them."
 
ULM concludes its Sun Belt road swing at UT Arlington on Saturday, Jan. 20, with tipoff set for 4:15 p.m. on ESPN3.