ULM Warhawks

MOBILE, Ala. – For the second consecutive game, the ULM men's basketball program used a huge second half to come back and defeat South Alabama 64-58 on Saturday at the Mitchell Center.

The Warhawks (6-7, 3-2 SBC) trailed 34-27 at the intermission when they came out and outscored the Jaguars (7-12, 1-5 SBC) 37-24 in the second half. Junior Tylor Ongwae registered a game-high 19 points, four rebounds, three steals and two assists.

ULM had four double-digit scorers for the second game in a row. Senior Amos Olatayo tallied 12 points and four assists, freshman Nick Coppola recorded 10 points, three rebounds and three assists and sophomore Daniel Grieves had 10 points and four rebounds.

Sophomore DeMondre Harvey earned his second consecutive start and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds to go along with his eight points and two blocks.

Sun Belt Conference Preseason Player of the Year Augustine Rubit posted a double-double for USA with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Aajim Saintil put in 11 points and Mychal Ammons pulled down 12 rebounds.

The Jaguars held an early 12-11 lead in the first half when they went on an 8-0 run to go up 20-11 with 5:56 remaining. Back-to-back steals and finishes by Olatayo on the fast-break cut it to a 20-17 deficit, forcing the Jaguars into a timeout with 4:21 left.

ULM came with-in one point at 23-22 after Ongwae hit a shot, got fouled and converted on the free throw at the 2:50 mark. USA led 30-27 when it scored the final four points of the half after a lay-in and a pair of free throws to go up 34-27.

The Warhawks opened the second half on a 7-0 run to quickly tie the game, 34-34 with 15:57 left. After USA went back up 40-36, Ongwae answered with a three-pointer and Olatayo hit a runner in the lane to give ULM the lead, 41-40 at the 12:04 mark.

Tied at 43, ULM went on a 4-0 run to go up 47-43 with 8:53 left. A three-pointer by sophomore Daniel Grieves extended the lead to 52-45 with 7:02 remaining.

The Jaguars stormed back and trailed 52-51 with 5:22 left but could not get any closer. ULM went on an 8-1 run capped by a three-pointer by Coppola to extend its lead to 60-53 at the 2:18 mark. USA came with-in three with 55 seconds left, but the Warhawks got stops defensively at made free throws to win the game.

ULM will take on WKU on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. in the first of a three-game home stand at Fant-Ewing Coliseum. The game against the Hilltoppers will be nationally televised on ESPN3.


NOTES
- The Warhawks have won consecutive road games for the first time since the 2002-03 season when it won three in a row with wins over UTSA, Northwestern State and Southeastern La.

- The seven-point halftime deficit is the largest ULM has overcome this season in a victory. It trailed by six at Northwestern State on Nov. 21 before coming back to win in double overtime

- ULM is above .500 in conference play after five games for the first time since 2006-07 when it started 4-1 and went on to win the SBC West Division title

- Junior Tylor Ongwae has reached double-figures in 11 of 13 games this season and has reached that plateau in all five conference games. He has also led the team in scoring in all five league games. Ongwae averages a team-high 15.8 points per contest on the season, and 21.0 ppg in conference action (second in the league)

- Senior Amos Olatayo posted his 10th double-figure scoring game of the season and the 27th of his career. He scored 11 of his 12 points in the second half

- For the second consecutive game, freshman Nick Coppola matched his career-high with 10 points and played 40 minutes. It was his third double-figure scoring game of the season

- Sophomore Daniel Grieves reached the 10-point plateau for the second time this year

- ULM outscored USA in points in the paint (30-28), points off turnovers (13-7), bench points (24-13) and fast break points (8-2). ULM also won the turnover margin 10-7

- ULM's seven turnovers were its fewest in a game this season

- The Warhawks have had at least four double-figure scorers in six games this season

- With 13 regular season games still remaining, ULM has already surpassed its win total by two games from last season and has matched its conference win total

Quoting ULM head coach Keith Richard
Opening Statement
“I'm really proud of these guys, especially names you don't hear too much such as DeMondre Harvey, Chinedu Amajoyi, Evan Sims and Daniel Grieves. Those are guys that get no publicity and you don't hear their names very much. It's guys like that who really helped us win this road game.”

On playing short-handed
“It shows you the power of team chemistry. Five guys working as one can be powerful when they really work at it. Regardless of whose available and whose here, the power of a team might be the most we got out of this trip. We learned how to be a team on this road swing.”

On the team's confidence
“Let's just take it one game at a time and one day at a time. We always know that lurking in the back of all this is the not-so-good team that we have to keep down. We have to keep that away and not let it come back. Between now and Thursday, I want to figure out why we played really well and how we can keep the other business away from the court.”