Travis Munnings jumper vs UT Arlington 2018
Ellman Photography
55
Louisiana Monroe ULM 7-11, 1-6 Sun Belt
71
Winner UT Arlington UTA 13-8, 4-4 Sun Belt
Louisiana Monroe ULM
7-11, 1-6 Sun Belt
55
Final
71
UT Arlington UTA
13-8, 4-4 Sun Belt
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Louisiana Monroe ULM 27 28 55
UT Arlington UTA 42 29 71

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Turnovers & Poor Shooting Spell Defeat for ULM at UTA, 71-55

Michael Ertel hit 4-of-9 3-pointers and finished with a team-high 16 points.

ARLINGTON, Texas – Sun Belt Preseason Player of the Year Kevin Hervey scored a game-high 21 points to lead UT Arlington to a 71-55 victory over ULM Saturday (Jan. 20) in College Park Center. It marked the Mavericks' third-straight win in the series.
 
UTA (13-8, 4-4 Sun Belt) jumped out to a 7-0 lead on Hervey's 3-pointer from the left wing with 17:53 left in the first quarter. A 3-pointer by Travis Munnings from the right wing sparked an 8-0 run as ULM took its only lead at 12-11 on Sam McDaniel's jumper from the right baseline with 14:54 remaining in the opening half. With the score tied at 15, the Mavericks scored eight-straight points to take a 23-15 lead on Davion Turner's 3-pointer from the right corner with 9:47 to play in the first half. UTA put together a 10-0 spurt and extended its lead to 15 at 33-18 on Nathan Hawkins' jumper in the lane with 5:25 left in the opening half. The Warhawks missed six consecutive field-goal attempts and committed two turnovers while going scoreless for a 5:04 stretch. ULM managed to cut its deficit to nine at 36-27 on McDaniel's triple from the top of the circle with 2:26 remaining in the first half. Hervey buried another 3-pointer with :01 left to send UTA to the locker with a 42-27 advantage, matching its largest lead of the first half.
 
The Mavericks scored 11 points off ULM's nine first-half turnovers and outrebounded the Warhawks, 20-13, over the first 20 minutes.
 
ULM (7-11, 1-6) outscored UTA, 11-0, over the first 5:28 of the second half to pull to within four at 42-38 on Munnings' 3-pointer from the top of the circle. The Mavericks responded with a 7-0 run to stretch their lead to 11 at 49-38 on Mairega Clarke's runner in the lane with 12:40 left in the game. Michael Ertel hit a 3-pointer from the top of the circle and added two free throws as ULM rallied to within 49-43 with 11:38 on the clock, but the Warhawks failed to close the margin any further. Erick Neal converted two free throws to give UTA its largest lead of the game at 71-53 with 1:12 remaining.
 
The Mavericks limited ULM to 31 percent (18-of-58) field-goal shooting and outrebounded the Warhawks, 49-33. UTA also enjoyed a 19-5 edge in points off turnovers.
 
"Heading into this game, we placed a huge emphasis on taking care of the basketball and not turning it over because we know how fast and talented UTA is, especially at home," ULM head basketball coach Keith Richard said. "UTA scored 11 points off our nine turnovers and that was really the difference in the first half. They finished with 19 points off turnovers, so we needed to do a better job in that area to make it a more competitive game.
 
"We didn't play poorly in the halfcourt offensively or defensively, but with UTA's spurt ability, it's tough to overcome a double-figure deficit like that. In this building, you don't have much of a chance if you don't play close to a perfect game.
 
"On a positive note, we bounced back and got off to a quick start in the second half, and that's encouraging, especially in light of some of the second-half lapses we've experienced this year."
 
Hervey connected on 6-of-12 field-goal attempts and grabbed eight rebounds while Turner contributed 10 points off the Mavs' bench.
 
Three Warhawks scored in double figures, led by Ertel who netted 13 of his 16 points in the second half. ULM also got 14 points from McDaniel and 13 from Munnings. Ertel also collected a season-high eight rebounds.
 
"For a freshman, Michael Ertel has done just about all that we've asked him to do," Richard said. "He's shown the knack to work inside against the defense to go along with his 3-point shooting. It's really good to see Michael evolving as a player."
 
After playing its last three league games on the road, ULM returns to Fant-Ewing Coliseum to face Troy on Thursday, Jan. 25 at 7 p.m. and South Alabama on Saturday, Jan. 27 at 2 p.m.

 
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