MONROE, La. -- Troy survived
a late ULM comeback to pick up a 71-64 overtime victory over the Warhawks on
Saturday inside Fant-Ewing Coliseum. The win was the second for the Trojans (9-12,
4-6 SBC) over the Warhawks this season and the eighth straight in the series dating
back to 2007.
Emil Jones scored eight of Troy's 14 points in overtime, including
three crucial baskets as the Trojans took the lead on the first possession and
never trailed in the period. Jones finished with 13 points, while Hunter
Williams led the Trojans with 15 points.
"Our fight is there, there's no question about that," ULM head
coach Keith Richard said. "It wasn't always easy for us on the offensive
end. We made some adjustments in
the second half that loosened their defense up and gave us some angles,
but we
missed 16 free throws. You can't win college basketball games missing 16
free throws."
Junior Amos Olatayo paced
ULM with a game-high 21 points on 7-of-20 shooting. It marked the fourth time
this season that Olatayo has scored 20 or more points in a game. Junior Jayon James added 14 points, seven
rebounds and five assists and sophomore Trent
Mackey chipped in 12 points.
Mackey drained a 3-pointer with one second remaining in regulation to
tie the game at 57 and send the game into overtime. The 3 capped a late run for
the Warhawks, who trailed by as many as 10 early in the second half.
The Warhawks (3-13, 2-8 SBC) forced overtime despite making just 10-of-26
attempts from the free-throw line. ULM shot 40 percent (22-of-55)
from the field and tied its season-high with 10 3-point makes.
Troy led most of the way as it used a 10-0 run midway through the first
half to build a 27-19 advantage with 6:33 to play in the opening half. The
Trojans led 33-27 at the break and pushed their lead to 49-39 with 9:22 to play
before the Warhawks mounted their comeback.
Highlighted by four points from James and a pair of 3-pointers from
sophomore Trey Lindsey, ULM embarked
on a 13-1 run to take a 52-50 advantage with just under three minutes to play.
Troy answered back with a 3-pointer from Tevin Calhoun and a pair of free throws from Josh Warren gave the Trojans a 57-54 lead with 11 seconds
remaining, setting up the game-tying 3 by Mackey in the final seconds.
ULM travels to Florida Atlantic on Thursday (Jan. 31) at 6 p.m. CT.
