JONESBORO, Ark. ? The ULM men's basketball team dug itself a hole it couldn't shoot its way out of in the second game of a league doubleheader at Arkansas State on Thursday evening. Shooting woes in the first half yielded a 75-64 loss at the Convocation Center in Jonesboro, Ark.
The Warhawks connected on 64 percent of their second half shots, including 55 percent from beyond the arc, but a first half that featured 7-of-23 shooting made the ASU lead insurmountable.
“Their shooters got going early in the first half and carried it over,” ULM head coach Orlando Early said. “We obviously dug ourselves a hole too deep. The glaring spot night in and night out is in the turnover and assist column. When we fall behind, we have to try hard to make plays instead of just playing the game.”
ASU (10-19, 5-13 Sun Belt) hit on four of its first six shots to grab a 10-3 lead with 17:36 left on the clock in the opening period. The Warhawks would come fighting back and, by the 15:08 mark, had whittled the lead down to three points at 13-10.
The ULM offense would experience a long cold spell and allow Arkansas State to rattle off a 9-2 run to push the advantage to double-digits with 7:16 left in the half.
Three minutes later senior Jonas Brown converted on a three-point play to cut the lead in half at 24-19, but another extended scoring drought allowed ASU to take a 13-point lead into the lockers at 34-21.
Out of the intermission, ULM (10-19, 4-13 Sun Belt) made quick work of the ASU lead. The Warhawks trimmed the deficit to four points at 42-38 with 14:07 remaining in the period, but could draw no closer. ASU slowly started to rebuild its second half advantage before settling on the final score.
Freshman Raphelle Turner tied his career-high with 13 points off 5-of-5 shooting from the field and added six rebounds. The post scored seven points in the second half, forcing the ASU offense to collapse around him and setting up the perimeter shot for the Warhawks. ULM hit on 6-of-11 treys in the second half.
ULM returns to action on Saturday, March 1 when it wraps up the regular season at home against UALR at 7:30 p.m. The Warhawks will honor seniors Jonas Brown, Jordan Payne and Lance Brasher in a ceremony before the game.
