MIAMI -- FIU scored the final
five points of the game to outlast ULM 76-73 in a Sun Belt shootout on Saturday evening
inside U.S. Century Bank Arena.
The Warhawks (3-15, 2-10 SBC) shot 58 percent for the game -- including
a blistering 70.4 percent in the second half -- and led by two points in the final
minute before the Panthers (12-10, 7-6 SBC) rallied for the victory.
With ULM leading 73-71, the Panthers' Malik Smith converted a three-point play with 19 seconds remaining and
Deric Hill came up with a timely
steal and converted a pair of free throws with seven seconds remaining to give
FIU a three-point advantage. Junior Jayon
James had his game-tying 3-point attempt at the buzzer come up short as ULM dropped
its seventh straight contest.
The loss overshadowed a pair of monster performances for the Warhawks
as junior Amos Olatayo finished with
a career-high 30 points and eight rebounds while playing all 40 minutes. It
marked the third straight game that Olatayo has scored 20-plus points and the
sixth time this season. He becomes the first ULM player to score 30 points in a
game since Tommie Sykes netted 32
against Union College on Jan. 4, 2011.
James finished just shy of a triple-double with 11 points, nine
rebounds and a career-high 15 assists in 40 minutes. James' 15 assists were the
second most in school history and the most since Larry Saulters recorded 19 assists against Mississippi College
during the 1969-70 season. It was also the most assists by a player in the Sun
Belt and tied for the sixth most in the NCAA this season.
Sophomore Trent Mackey added
21 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field and 5-of-8 shooting from 3-point
range for ULM. Mackey nailed four 3-pointers in the second half to help the
Warhawks rally from an eight-point deficit.
Mackey converted a 3-pointer to tie the score at 71 and Olatayo raced
down the floor for a transition layup to give the Warhawks a 73-71 advantage
with just over a minute remaining. ULM forced a stop on the other end and got
the ball back with a chance to put the game away, but sophomore Trey Lindsey stepped out of bounds with
33 seconds left to give the ball back to FIU.
Smith stepped up and drove the lane for a layup and a foul to give the
Panthers the lead for good on FIU's next possession. Smith led four FIU players
in double-digit scoring with 17 points. Tymel
Murphy added 14 points, Jerome Frink
chipped in 13 points and Marco Porcher Jimenez
finished with 10 points for the Panthers.
ULM and FIU traded runs in the first half, but it was the Panthers'
12-3 spurt to close out the half that gave them a 35-29 edge at the break.
The Warhawks went up 47-46 on a 3-pointer by Mackey with 14:06
remaining before FIU used an 11-2 run to take 63-54 advantage -- its largest of
the game -- with 8:16 to play. Four straight points by James and a jumper from
Mackey cut the FIU lead to 63-60 and the two teams went back-and-forth in the final
six minutes.
ULM returns home to face UALR on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. inside
Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
