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Men?s Basketball Grinds Out Victory Over Jacksonville State

Men?s Basketball Grinds Out Victory Over Jacksonville State

Men's Basketball Nov 27
NORMAL, Ill. – Senior forward Tommie Sykes scored a season-high 16 points and had a game-high eight rebounds as the ULM men's basketball team earned a 57-50 win on Friday night (Nov. 26) over Jacksonville State at the Global Sports Roundball Classic.

Senior forward Lawrence Gilbert added 13 points and junior guard Hugh Mingo scored 11 as the Warhawks held off the Gamecocks.

ULM led nearly the entire way, taking the lead four minutes into the first half, surrendering it for just a minute midway through the second stanza.

Trailing by one in the early going, ULM used a 10-0 run to take a 12-3 advantage with 13:17 to play in the first half. Mingo started the burst with a basket before Sykes made a pair of free throws and Mingo buried back-to-back triples, forcing a Jacksonville State timeout.

The ULM lead reached 10 on a pair of free throws by junior forward Christian Bibi Ndongo, but Jacksonville State trimmed the advantage back to six, 16-10, with just under eight minutes left in the half. The Warhawks went nearly six minutes without a field goal, but were able to hold the lead by getting to the free-throw line. ULM was 11-of-11 from the charity stripe in the first half, led by 7-of-7 by Sykes.

After the Warhawks lead reached 12, 24-12, on a triple by freshman guard Marcelis Hansberry, Jacksonville State answered with a pair of threes to cut the lead in half, 24-18, with 1:43 to play in the first half.

Jacksonville State finished the first half on a 10-2 run to cut the ULM lead to just four, 26-22, at the intermission.

Sykes led the way with 11 points and eight rebounds in the opening 20 minutes; Nick Murphy led the Gamecocks with seven points. Both teams struggled from the floor in the first half; ULM shot just 22.1 percent (6-of-27) while Jacksonville State was just 24.1 percent (7-of-29) from the field.

Jacksonville State pulled within a point, 32-31, just past the five-minute mark of the second half before Sykes converted an old-fashioned three-point play to push the ULM lead back to four.

The Gamecocks took their first lead of the second half, 40-39, with 9:15 to play in the contest, but the lead was short lived as Mingo answered with a trifecta as the Warhawks regained the lead.

The Mingo three ignited a 7-0 run by ULM as Gilbert made a pair of baskets to give the Warhawks a 46-40 advantage.

Jacksonville State was within four at the final media timeout of the contest when junior guard Fred Brown connected on a triple from the corner out of that timeout to give ULM a 51-44 lead.

With less than a minute to play and the Gamecocks within three, Gilbert drove to the basket, made the layup and got fouled. Gilbert converted the free throw to give the Warhawks a 54-48 advantage with 45 seconds left.

Both teams shot much better percentages in the second 20 minutes, Jacksonville State was 60.0 percent (9-of-15) from the floor and ULM went 55.0 percent (11-of-20).

Murphy led Jacksonville State with 13 points and six rebounds. Jeremy Bynum scored 11 for the Gamecocks and Stephen Hall chipped in 10 points.

ULM will return to action tomorrow night (Nov. 27) when the Warhawks take on the host Illinois State Redbirds on day two of the Global Sports Roundball Classic. Game time is scheduled for 6 p.m.

QUOTES

ULM Head Coach Keith Richard

On the game … “We made a couple of plays late, we pretty much always had the lead, but it was good to see us make some big shots at just the right times. Hugh Mingo made a big shot in the corner, Marcelis Hansberry made a big shot in the corner and then Lawrence Gilbert made a big three-point play.”




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