TROY, Ala. – The ULM men's basketball program started slow but made big plays in the second half and overtime to comeback and pull-out a 58-55 victory over Troy on Thursday at Trojan Arena.
ULM (13-8, 7-3 SBC) trailed by 10 points at halftime and 13 points in the second half before coming back to even the score. Juniors Majok Deng and Mack Foster each tallied 15 points on five made field goals and a trio of three-pointers apiece. Foster's 15 points marked a career-high.
The ULM defense held the Trojans (7-12, 2-8 SBC) to just eight made field goals after halftime which included overtime.
Troy led 34-21 early in the second half when ULM came storming back with a 14-4 run to force a Trojan timeout with the score 38-35 with 13:08 to go. After Troy pushed its lead up to 44-38, the Warhawks responded with three-pointers from junior Jamaal Samuel and sophomore Nick Coppola to tie it, 44-44 at the 8:19 mark. ULM took the lead, 45-44, after a free throw by junior Justin Roberson with 7:05 left.
Troy's Kelton Ford hit a free throw and then made a three-pointer to put the Trojans back on top, 48-45. Foster came back and levelled the score once again, 50-50, after a big three-pointer with 1:18 remaining. Both teams had a chance to score on their last possession of regulation but couldn't get the finishing bucket to go through. The Trojans had the final chance but Ford's driving lay-up was deflected in the closing seconds.
ULM scored the first six points in overtime on two free throws from both Foster and Roberson and a lay-in by Foster. The Trojans answered with baskets from Musa Abdul-Aleem and Kevin Thomas to cut it to 56-54 with 1:49 left.
Troy was able to get a pair of stops defensively and had the ball with 22 seconds. Thomas found an open driving lane and a ULM student-athlete was called for a flagrant foul for intentionally fouling him in order to stop an easy lay-in. However, Thomas missed both free throws. ULM got a stop after Troy was awarded the ball after the flagrant foul and Roberson hit a pair of free throws to make it a four-point game with 13 seconds left.
Troy's last gasp came when John Walton III was fouled with 1.9 seconds left. He made the first free throw and intentionally missed the second but senior Tylor Ongwae secured the rebound for the win.
Roberson chipped in with nine points in the game and Ongwae posted team-highs of nine rebounds and five assists.
Abdul-Aleem posted a game-high 17 points for the Trojans including four three-pointers. Wesley Person scored 11 points and Thomas and Walton III each had 10.
ULM forced turnovers early and scored in transition to get out to a quick 6-0 lead. Troy answered with a 14-0 run to go up 14-6 at the 10:43 mark.
Troy's biggest lead of the first half was 21-9 and it still led 26-15 when Deng hit a pair of three-pointers to make it a 26-21 game with 2:38 remaining. The Trojans scored the last five points of the half to take a 31-21 edge into the break.
The Warhawks will return home on Saturday to close out the weekend. They will take on South Alabama at 4:00 p.m. at Fant-Ewing Coliseum. Follow the ULM men's basketball program on twitter, @ULM_MBB, for all of the latest news and live in-game updates.
NOTES
- The Warhawks swept the season series over Troy for the first time in school history (ULM joined the SBC in 2005-06). It also marked ULM's second consecutive win at Troy after winning 75-64 last season at Trojan Arena
- ULM won its fourth straight road game for the first time since 1998-99
- The 10-point halftime deficit was the largest overcame in a win this season for the Warhawks. The 13-point deficit tied the largest second half comeback on the season as ULM also did it at UTA to come back and win in overtime
- Deng matched his career-high in three-pointers made with three. He was one-point shy of his scoring career-high but played a career-high 40 minutes. It was his 12th double-figure scoring game of the season. Deng entered the game ranking second in the league in blocks (1.7 bpg) and swatted a pair
- Foster posted his third double-figure scoring game with his career-high. It was the second time this season he's made five field goals and the third time he's hit a trio of three-pointers. Foster played a career-high 33 minutes
- Roberson played a career-high 40 minutes and also grabbed three steals in the contest
- ULM committed just six turnovers in the game, a season-low
- The Warhawks outscored the Trojans 18-1 in bench points and 13-2 in points off turnovers
- Keith Richard improved to 19-9 all-time in overtime games in his head coaching career
- ULM remained as the only team in the SBC that has not allowed 75 points in a single game this season. It is also one of 10 teams left in the nation to accomplish that
- The Warhawks matched their conference win total from last season when they finished 7-11. ULM has now surpassed its overall win total from last year by three games when it ended 10-17
