LAFAYETTE, La. – The sixth consecutive victory for the ULM men's basketball program came in heart-pumping fashion as the Warhawks escaped UL-Lafayette with a huge 57-55 win on Monday at the Cajundome.
The Warhawks (12-6, 6-1 SBC) were clinging to a 56-55 lead with 38 seconds left with the ball when the Ragin' Cajuns (10-8, 4-3 SBC) opted not to foul with just under a three-second shot clock to game clock differential. The Cajuns got the ball back with 2.7 seconds underneath their own basket when senior Tylor Ongwae intercepted a long pass with 1.2 seconds remaining. After a foul and a made free throw, ULL's full-court shot at the buzzer fell short.
Ongwae led the team with 13 points. The Warhawks used a well-balanced attack as junior Jamaal Samuel scored nine, juniors Majok Deng and Justin Roberson put in eight, sophomore Nick Coppola netted seven and senior Marvin Williams and junor Mack Foster recorded six each. Williams grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
For the Cajuns, Shawn Long led the way with 19 points and nine rebounds, and Devonta Walker registered 15 points and nine rebounds.
The game was tied, 14-14, in the first half when the Warhawks went on a 9-0 spurt, capped by a three-pointer by junior Jamaal Samuel to go up 23-14 at the 7:39 mark. It was one of three long-range shots in the game for Samuel.
ULM led 28-20 when the Cajuns came back with an 8-0 run to tie it with 2:22 remaining. The Warhawks regained the lead after a pair of inside baskets from Deng and went into half with a 32-30 advantage.
The Cajuns came out hot in the second half and jumped ahead, 38-34 after an 8-2 run. ULM came back to tie it, 39-39, after a fast-break basket by Ongwae with 12:41 left.
After a three-pointer from ULL's Xavian Rimmer, ULM responded with a 9-0 run including a three-pointer and a lay-in by Coppola to go up 48-42 with 8:39 left. The Warhawks were still ahead, 52-47, when the Cajuns connected on six straight free throws to cut deficits to 52-51 and 54-53.
Roberson, who also grabbed six rebounds and dished out a team-high four assists in the game, was fouled with 50 seconds left and hit a pair of clutch free throws to give ULM a 56-53 edge. On ULL's following possession, Long was fouled and hit both free throws to make it a one-point game again with 38 seconds remaining.
The Warhawks return home on Thursday for a 7:00 p.m. tip against UT Arlington. ULM closes out the weekend on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. against Georgia Southern; legendary former head coach Mike Vining will be honored with a “402” banner at halftime to represent the number of regular and post-season victories over his 24 seasons at the helm.
NOTES
- ULM extended its longest SBC winning streak in school history to six. The six wins also marks the longest conference spurt since 1998-99 when it was a member of the Southland Conference
- The Warhawks entered the game ranking top-25 in the nation and leading the SBC in both field goal and three-point field goal percentage defense. ULM held the Cajuns to a .327 (18-55) mark from the field and .111 (2-18) from long range
- For the third consecutive game, ULM held the opposition to 55 points or less. It defeated Troy 63-54 and UALR 64-52. In the game prior to that, the Warhawks defeated Texas State 62-59 making it four consecutive games of 60-points or less against
- ULM's bench outscored ULL's 17-5
- The Warhawks have now won two of the last three games against the Ragin' Cajuns
- Ongwae notched his 36th career double-figure scoring game and 12th of the year. It was the seventh time this season that he led the team in scoring
- Samuel matched his career-high in three-pointers made with a trio
- ULM remained as the only team in the SBC 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
- The Warhawks have already surpassed their overall win total from last season by two games when they finished 10-17. With 13 games still remaining, the Warhawks are one win away from also matching their SBC win total from last year
- It marked the third game in five days for the Warhawks who are also on a stretch of five games in nine days
