STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – A low-scoring affair ended in favor of Penn State, 54-50 over the ULM men's basketball program after a back-and-forth second half on Saturday at Rec Hall despite a career game from freshman Travis Munnings.
ULM (4-4, 1-0 SBC), which was without leading scorer, rebounder and shot blocker Majok Deng for the second consecutive game, led 37-31 with 11:10 remaining in the contest before PSU (7-3) made its move. ULM's last lead was 40-39 with 5:34 remaining.
Munnings poured in a career and game-high 22 points and pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds, which also matched his career-high. It was his second double-double of the season. Senior Jamaal Samuel also finished in double-figures with 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds. He also swatted three blocks.
Brandon Taylor led the Nittany Lions with 16 points and seven rebounds. Payton Banks pitched in with 10 points.
ULM trailed 7-4 early when Munnings drilled a three-pointer and scored six points on an 8-0 run to put the Warhawks ahead, 12-7 at the 14:34 mark. The Nittany Lions answered with a 7-2 run to tie it, 14-14 with 10:18 to go.
The Warhawks were up 16-15 when junior Nick Coppola and junior Prince Cooper hit jumpers to give them a 20-15 edge with 7:28 left. PSU came back with a 6-0 run to take the lead, 21-20 with 3:53 remaining. The Nittany Lions held onto the slight 25-24 lead at the break.
Baskets by Munnings and senior DeMondre Harvey put ULM back on top early in the second half, 28-25. A three-pointer by Roberson at the end of the shot clock, followed by a pair of free throws by Munnings gave the Warhawks a 33-27 lead with 16:13 left.
The teams exchanged baskets for the next five minutes with ULM still ahead, 37-31 with 11:10 to go. The Nittany Lions responded with a 6-0 run to tie the game, 37-37 at the 8:09 mark. After the Warhawks went back up 40-39 after a free throw by Samuel, PSU scored the next four points to take the lead 43-40 at the final media timeout with 3:53 left.
After a tough, inside bucket by Munnings inside cut it to 43-42, PSU got a runner, followed by an old-fashion three-point play to put its lead up to 48-42 at the 2:17 mark.
The Warhawks kept fighting and got the deficit all the way down to two, 52-50, after a lay-in by Munnings with 24 seconds. After a pair of made free throws by PSU's Taylor, ULM was unable to get another basket to further extend the game.
The game featured seven ties and nine lead changes.
ULM will close out the weekend on Sunday when it travels to play 14th-ranked West Virginia at 4:00 p.m. (CT). Follow the ULM men's basketball program on twitter, @ULM_MBB, for live in-game updates.
NOTES
- Coppola moved into the top-10 in career assists at ULM with four in the contest. His 264 career assists surpassed Jayon James (261 assists). Coppola needs 13 more to move into ninth and catch Brian Spencer (277 assists)
- ULM has now held opponents to under 75 points in 51 of the last 52 games
- It marked the first-ever meeting between ULM and Penn State. It was the second of four games for the Warhawks in the Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic. The last two will be played in Las Vegas, Nev., on Dec. 22-23 against Canisius and either Hampton or Nicholls State
- ULM entered the game ranking 22nd in the nation in three-point field goal percentage defense (.275) and held the Nittany Lions to a .150 (3-20) clip
- The Warhawks outrebounded the Nittany Lions, 47-31. ULM also held an 18-8 edge in second chance points after pulling down 18 offensive rebounds
- Munnings notched his fifth double-figure scoring game of the year. He surpassed his previous career-high of 18 points set at Houston. Munnings matched his career-high in rebounding set at Northwestern State. It was his second double-double of the year after he recorded 14 points and 10 rebounds against the Demons. Munnings also made a career-high five free throws (5-6)
- Samuel posted his 13th career double-digit scoring game and fifth this year. It was also his third in a row. It was the second straight game where he blocked three shots as he also did it at Kent State
- Harvey made his second consecutive start in-place of Deng and grabbed a season-high eight rebounds
- Deng missed his second straight game after sustaining a leg injury earlier in week and is out indefinitely for precautionary reasons. He was named National Mid-Major Player of the Week on Monday by College Sports Madness
- The game was played at Rec Hall as opposed to the Bryce Jordan Center where Penn State usually plays. Rec Hall was home to the Nittany Lions from 1929-96
