MONROE, La. ? Saving the best for last, the ULM men's basketball team
overcame a double-digit second half deficit in the closing seconds for a 56-54
win against Morehead State in the season opening game.
Senior Tony Hooper struggled on offense all
game long, going 3-of-15 in the game's first 39 minutes before hitting his last
two shots of the game. Hooper hit a three from the wing with 54 seconds
remaining to tie the game before hitting a driving lay-up on an isolation play
with just over four ticks left. The Houston, Texas, native finished with 14
points on the night.
“I thought it was good for our team,” ULM
head coach Orlando Early said. “I am proud of our seniors and their leadership.
They have been down before and seen adversity. They stayed the course and it is
ironic that at the end of the game we had a senior set the screen [Afam Nweke]
and a senior [Hooper] finish strong with the basket.”
ULM (1-0) trailed by as many as 15 in the
game, and was behind 43-29 early in the second half before mounting the
comeback. The Warhawks buckled down on defense and limited the Eagles to only
19 points in the second half 25 percent shooting from the field.
“I just told them [at the half] that you have
to defend,” Early said. “This is about defending and rebounding. I thought we
did a good job in the second half. In the first half, Morehead State played
with a lot of emotion and energy. They made some tough shots, but I knew that
if we do what we do and stay the course, we could find a way. Our guys did a
good job.”
It didn't look good for the Warhawks to start
the game. Misfiring on offense in the first half, ULM committed 11 turnovers
and hit on just over 40 percent of their shots.
Morehead State (0-1) used a 13-2 run early in
the opening half to claim a 20-9 advantage at the 11:55 mark in. The two teams
traded scores over the remainder of the period, but the Warhawks could not cut
significantly into the early deficit.
ULM entered the lockers trailing 35-25.
In the second half it looked like more of the
same early on. Morehead State pushed its lead up to 14 with a short burst out
of the lockers before the defense locked down. The Eagles could only muster 15
more points in the game's final 16-plus minutes to allow the Warhawk comeback.
In his ULM debut, junior Jarvis Hill scored a
game-high 22 points off 9-of-15 shooting from the field. Hill finished with
five of the Warhawks six steals. Sophomore Rudy Turner finished with 10 points,
eight rebounds and five assists to round out the other double-figure scorers
for the Warhawks.
Nweke also pulled down eight rebounds in the
effort and helped the Warhawks to a 36-29 advantage on the glass.
Robert Murry scored a team-high 14 points to
pace three Eagles in double-digits. Morehead State star forward Kenneth Faried
added a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out with
7:39 remaining in the game.
ULM will look to make it two in a row on Monday when
it travels to Starkville, Miss., for a 7 p.m. game against Mississippi State.