MONROE,
La. - Arkansas State trounced ULM 85-66 Thursday evening inside Fant-Ewing
Coliseum.
The Red
Wolves shot 64 percent from the field to spoil a special night for the Warhawks
as they raised money for breast cancer awareness. 752 ULM students showed up to
the game on a night when head coach Keith Richard made a $1 donation to the
Kitty Degree Foundation for every student in attendance.
The
Warhawk
shot 57.1 percent for the game, including eight
3-pointers despite the loss. ULM also had a 30-23 edge in bench
points.The loss was the seventh straight for the Warhawks, who dropped to
6-20 overall, 1-11 in the Sun Belt.
Senior
forward Lawrence Gilbert paced ULM with 14 points and eight rebounds in 39
minutes of action. Freshman guard R.J. McCray came off the bench to score a
career-high 12 points on 4-of-4 shooting, while junior guard Fred Brown chipped
in 10 points.
Junior
center Christian Bibi Ndongo notched a career high in points for the second
straight game with nine points and junior guard Lonell Reeves posted a
career-high five points.
Arkansas
State (14-13, 8-4 SBC) put the game away with an 8-0 run spanning three minutes
late in the second half. Brandon Peterson scored on a dunk to finish of the
spurt and give the Red Wolves a 69-53 advantage with 5:28 remaining.
Donald
Boone scored 20 points to lead the Red Wolves, while Brandon Peterson tallied
14 points and five rebounds and Trey Finn added 11 points.
McCray
came off the bench to score seven points during a 12-5 run as the Warhawks got
to within 61-53 with 8:19 to play. McCray hit back-to-back 3-pointers, followed
by a 3-pointer from Reeves.
Bibi
Ndongo capped the run with a jumper as ULM cut the lead under double digits for
the only time in the second half.
The Red
Wolves shot a blistering 69.6 percent from the field in the first half to build
a 42-29 advantage at the halftime. Brandon Peterson scored on a layup with six
seconds remaining to give Arkansas State the 13-point advantage at the break.
After
the Warhawks got to within two at 22-20, Arkansas State used a 10-2 spurt to
build its first double-digit lead of the game at 32-22 with 5:35 remaining in
the half, capped by a three-point play from Trey Finn.
Arkansas
State took the lead for good (11-10) on a 3-pointer from Donald Boone with
15:04 remaining. Boone added a transition layup and a 3-pointer to help the Red
Wolves to a 20-14 advantage at the 11:11 mark.
The
Warhawks continue a two-game homestand by hosting UALR Saturday at 7 p.m.
inside Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
