BOONE, N.C. – The ULM men's basketball program closed out its 2014-15 road slate with a 66-43 defeat at Appalachian State on Saturday at the Holmes Center.
Sophomore Nick Coppola scored a team-high 12 points for ULM (19-10, 13-5 SBC) after hitting a pair of three-pointers. Junior Justin Roberson also reached double-figures with 10 points.
Senior Tylor Ongwae and junior Majok Deng pulled down five rebounds apiece.
Frank Eaves notched a game-high 28 points for the Mountaineers (10-17, 7-11 SBC). He drained five three-pointers and shot 9-for-14 from the field.
Early three-pointers from Roberson and junior Jamaal Samuel built ULM a 10-8 lead. The Mountaineers came back with a big 15-0 run to go up 23-10 with 6:32 left. A three-pointer at the buzzer by Dustin Clarke gave Appalachian State a 34-19 lead at the half.
The Warhawks cut the deficit to 14 in the second half, 44-30, after a three-pointer by Coppola with 12:04 remaining but could not get any closer.
ULM will play its last two games of the regular season at home beginning on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. at Fant-Ewing Coliseum. The Warhawks will play their season finale next Saturday on Senior Night at 4:00 p.m. against Texas State.
NOTES
- ULM won seven of its final nine road games of the season
- It was ULM's first-ever meeting at Appalachian State. The teams split the season series after the Warhawks won 69-58 in Monroe
- The Warhawks closed out February with a 5-2 record
- ULM remained as one of five teams left in the nation to not allow 75 points in a single game this season. The list also includes Saint Peters, Utah, Baylor and New Hampshire
- Coppola registered his 22nd career double-digit scoring game and the 13th this season. It was the fourth time his year that he led the team in scoring. Coppola entered the game ranking third in the SBC in assists (4.0 apg) and was right on par with four
- Coppola ended his consecutive 40-minute game streak at six. He broke Maurice Bell's school record of five in a row set in 1999-2000
- Roberson posted his 12th double-figure scoring game of the season and his fourth in the last five games
- The Warhawks have clinched a first-round bye (top-four seed) at the SBC Championships
- ULM has posted the most single-season SBC wins in school history with 13. The 19 wins overall are the most since 2001-02
- The Warhawks have already surpassed their conference win total from last season by six games and have also surpassed their overall win total by nine games when they finished 10-17 (7-11 SBC)
