BATON ROUGE, La. - The ULM men's basketball team fell in its season opener, 82-62, at LSU Friday night (Nov. 13). Fifth-year senior guard Tony Hooper and senior forward Malcolm Thomas each led the Warhawks with 11 points.
The Tigers jumped out to a quick start, scoring the first 14 points of the contest. Junior guard Warren Fuselier got ULM on the board 7:47 into the first half with a steal and a layup. The Warhawks then forced another turnover and Hooper hit an 18-foot jumper as ULM began to settle into the contest.
ULM played LSU even over the next six minutes, as the Tigers took a 29-14 lead into a media timeout with 6:38 to play in the first half.
The Warhawks scored the final five points of the half on a basket by Thomas and a deep three-pointer at the buzzer by Hooper to cut the LSU lead to 40-29 heading into the intermission.
Thomas led ULM with six points at the break, Hooper and junior forward Tommie Sykes each chipped in five, Sykes also had five rebounds in the opening half. LSU's Bo Spencer led all scorers with nine points in the opening stanza, the Tigers also held an 11-3 free throw advantage in the first 20 minutes.
Hooper started the second half the same way he ended the first, burying a trifecta to cut the LSU lead to 40-32.
After the Tigers extended the lead, junior forward Lawrence Gilbert cut it back to single-digits, 46-37, with a four-point play on a triple and a free throw with 16:43 to play.
With the LSU advantage at nine, 53-44, the Tigers went on a 10-0 run, holding ULM scoreless for 6:02, putting the game out of reach.
Fuselier added 10 points and four assists off the bench for ULM while Hooper and Sykes grabbed a team-high six rebounds.
Spencer led all scorers with 23 points in the contest for LSU.
ULM returns home to Monroe on Sunday (Nov. 15) for the regular season home opener against Alcorn State. Game time between the Warhawks and Braves is scheduled for 2 p.m., at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
