ATLANTA – The ULM men's basketball program led 26-23 at the intermission, but Georgia State used a big 20-1 second half run to pull away and take a 65-45 decision on Tuesday at GSU Sports Arena in the Sun Belt Conference opener.
Junior Jamaal Samuel led ULM (6-6, 0-1 SBC) with nine points while junior Majok Deng grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
The Panthers (8-4, 1-0 SBC), who won the SBC regular season last season and were picked to win the league again in the Preseason Poll, shot .575 (15-26) in the second half to surge. GSU was led by 2013-14 SBC Player of the Year R.J. Hunter who scored 18 points. Markus Crider notched a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
The Warhawks led 8-7 early when junior Mack Foster and sophomore Nick Coppola hit three-pointers to fuel a 7-0 run to go up 15-7 with 8:27 remaining. A bucket by junior Majok Deng in the post increased the lead to 17-9 with 7:49 left.
The Panthers answered with an 11-0 run after a trio of long-range shots to take a 20-17 edge at the 4:53 mark. ULM responded and closed the half strong, and after a buzzer-beater lay-up on the fast-break by Foster, the Warhawks went into the half leading, 26-23.
On ULM's first possession of the second half, Coppola drilled another three-pointer to up the advantage to 29-23.
The Panthers came back firing and took their first lead of the half, 36-35, with 14:24 left. GSU used a 20-1 run to go up, 52-36 at the 6:37 mark. ULM went 10:19 without a field goal before Samuel put one in with 6:18 left.
The game featured six ties and three lead changes.
ULM will play its first SBC home game on Monday when it hosts Arkansas State at 7:00 p.m. at Fant-Ewing Coliseum. The Warhawks are a perfect 5-0 at home this season with an average score of 85-58 per outing.
NOTES
- The Warhawks outscored the Panthers off the bench, 25-18. Senior Marvin Williams and Foster tallied seven points apiece
- Samuel led the team in scoring for the second time this season
- Coppola hit at least two three-pointers in a game for the seventh time this year. He finished with six points, three assists and a pair of steals
- The Warhawks moved to 5-3 all-time against the Panthers
- ULM remained as the only team in the Sun Belt Conference that has not allowed 80 points in a single game this season. The most the team let up was 74 points to Northwestern State in a win
