MONROE, La. – The ULM men's basketball program closed out the 2014-15 regular season strong as it erased a 12-point second half deficit to come back and defeat Texas State, 56-53 on Senior Day at Fant-Ewing Coliseum on Saturday.
ULM (20-11, 14-6 SBC) trailed 43-31 with 12:26 remaining when its defense clamped down and did not allow a Texas State (13-16, 7-13 SBC) field goal until the 4:50 mark. During that span, the Warhawks went on a 14-2 run to leap ahead, 46-45.
After the Bobcats regained the lead, 49-48, sophomore Nick Coppola hit a big three-pointer to put the Warhawks back on top, 51-49 with 2:17 left. Coppola then got fouled after a strong-take to the rim and hit a pair of free throws to make it 53-49 with 59.7 seconds.
Texas State's Wesley Davis was able to grab an offensive rebound and put it back in to cut ULM's lead to 53-51 with 13.9 seconds left. Junior Mack Foster was fouled and drained both free throws to push the lead back up to 55-51 with 11.1 seconds remaining.
D.J. Brown went the length of the court and was able to put in a lay-up to make it 55-53 ULM with 3.3 seconds left. Coppola was fouled and hit a free throw to make it 56-53. Texas State's full-court heave at the buzzer fell short.
Junior Majok Deng etched team-highs of 11 points and nine rebounds. Junior Justin Roberson also reached double-figures with 10 points.
Kavin Gilder-Tilbury led the Bobcats with 16 points and eight rebounds, while Davis had 10 points.
Senior Chinedu Amajoyi opened the game with a three-pointer on ULM's first possession. After Texas State took a 14-13 lead, the Warhawks responded with an 8-0 run which included four points by Roberson to go up, 21-14 at the 6:22 mark.
ULM extended its lead to 25-17 after a runner by Deng with 4:01 left. The Bobcats closed out the half strong with a 9-2 spurt, but the Warhawks held a 27-26 edge at the break.
Texas State scored the first five points of the second half to go up, 31-27. The Bobcats took their biggest lead of the game, 43-31 with 12:26 to go after a 12-2 run.
The Warhawks answered with back-to-back three-pointers from Foster and Deng to cut the deficit to 43-37 with 11:32 left. The Bobcats led 45-37 when the Warhawks reeled off a 9-0 run which included a three-pointer by junior Jamaal Samuel and four points by senior Tylor Ongwae to go up 46-45 with 7:10 remaining.
The Warhawks will now turn their attention to the SBC Championships. Third-seeded ULM will play its first game (quarterfinals) on Friday, March 13 at 7:30 p.m. at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans. ULM will take on the winner of sixth-seeded South Alabama and seventh-seeded UALR.
NOTES
- ULM honored Chinedu Amajoyi, Tylor Ongwae, Evan Sims and Marvin Williams on Senior Day with a special presentation before the game. All four are on pace to graduate with degrees from ULM in the spring
- The Warhawks finished in a tie for second-place in the SBC standings after being picked sixth in the SBC Preseason Poll
- ULM notched its 11th 20-win season in school history and the first since 2001-02
- For the second year in a row, the Warhawks doubled both their overall and conference win totals. ULM finished 10-17 (7-11 SBC) last season
- ULM posted its fifth season-sweep. It won both meetings this year against UL-Lafayette, South Alabama, UALR, Troy and Texas State
- The Warhawks improved to 27-18 all-time against Texas State and 17-5 at home
- For the 15th time this season and the 10th time in SBC play, the Warhawks held the opposition to under 60 points
- 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
- The Warhawks entered the game ranking 14th in the nation field goal percentage defense (.383) and held the Bobcats to a .345 (19-55) clip. ULM also leads the SBC in blocks with four per game and was right on par with Samuel's four swats which matched a career-high
- ULM's bench outscored Texas State's, 21-9. The Warhawks outrebounded the Bobcats, 36-33
- It marked the third time in conference play that ULM came back from a double-digit second half deficit this season
- Deng tallied his 18th double-figure scoring game of the season. It was the sixth time this year that he led the team in scoring
- Roberson has now reached double-figures in scoring in six of the last seven games. It was his 14th double-digit scoring game of the season
- The Warhawks closed out the 2014-15 year 12-3 at home and 402-172 all-time in Fant-Ewing Coliseum
Quoting ULM head coach Keith Richard
Opening statement
“These kids have just been unbelievable and amazing all year long, and in particular in conference play. We opened the season at UAB with a money-game win. We took Florida to overtime; and really all the way down to the last game. We had a lot riding on this game tonight in terms of needing a win for momentum. 20 wins, 14 conference wins, tied for second in the league, doubled our overall win total from last year, doubled our conference win total. This has been a tremendous regular season by this group of players. It's been one of my most enjoyable years of coaching because not so much was expected from this team in terms of that many wins. I knew we'd be better, but no way did I think 20 wins or 14 conference wins.”
On riding the ups and downs of the season
“The game itself tonight was a prime example of our season. We had highs in the first half and some lows. Then we had some lows in the second half followed by highs down the stretch. The team has never wavered from their fight. They've been very resilient, won a lot of close games and won another one today. It wasn't always pretty, but it's been a really good year and I couldn't be more proud.”
On holding Texas State's offense to without a field goal for over seven minutes in the second half
“We had a spirited meeting at the media timeout. We defended so well in the first half. I know we were struggling to score the ball early in the second half, but on the defensive end we were letting them throw the ball in the post or wherever they wanted to throw it. You could just see our heads starting to sink a little bit. So we got after them at the timeout and challenged them. We came out of that timeout with great energy and it was hard for Texas State to pass anywhere, let alone get it to the rim or get an open shot. The last 10 minutes we defended like we've defended all year long.”
Closing statement
“I'm just so proud and happy with this regular season and this team right here. With everything we've been through, I feel as a coach that we have a program now. We've got academics going the right way. On the court, we're standing up on our feet on the top half of the conference. It feels like things, for the first time since I've been here, are really going in the right direction and I'm really happy about it.”
