MONROE, La. – The 30th anniversary celebration of the 1985-86 ULM men's basketball team, which won both the Southland Conference Regular Season and Postseason championships, will take place on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 12-13.
The reunion will begin with a reception at President Dr. Nick Bruno's house on Friday evening (Feb. 12). It will lead up to ULM's home game the next day against Arkansas State at Feb. 13 at 4:00 p.m. at Fant-Ewing Coliseum. The team will be recognized at halftime.
The 1985-86 squad finished with a 20-10 overall record and 9-3 in conference. They defeated Louisiana Tech, 57-56 in the semifinals and McNeese State, 59-57 in the finals of the conference tournament to become champions.
“In the championship game, I thought the game was over and we had lost. Arthur Hayes ran across half-court and just threw one up because of the time. The buzzer sounded and it went in, and it was a shock to all of us,” said Mike Vining, head coach of the Warhawks at the time. “Nevertheless, it was a tremendous feeling.”
The Warhawks advanced to the NCAA Tournament where they met Jerry Tarkanian's UNLV squad. ULM led as late as the six-minute mark of the first half before UNLV used a big second half to take a 74-51 result.
ULM's 20-10 record marked its 26th consecutive non-losing season, the sixth longest streak in the country. The team had four eventual 1,000 point scorers on it as Michael Saulsberry wrapped up his career with 1,308 points, Arthur Hayes with 1,122 points, Elgin James with 1,044 points and Bobby Jenkins 1,029.
Both James and Jenkins were awarded All-America Honorable Mention that season. It still stands as the only time in school history that two Warhawks earned All-America recognition in the same year.
Additionally, Jenkins was named Southland Conference Player of the Year, while Hayes earned Southland All-Tournament Most Valuable Player. Jenkins was selected to both the All-Conference and All-Louisiana First-Team, and James received recognition on the All-Conference First-Team and All-Louisiana Third-Team. Sean Paulfrey was also named to the All-Tournament Team.
“Those guys were such great competitors. The key to that season was our team chemistry. We had good players, but the big thing was they all trusted each other and complimented each other,” Vining said.
Vining won his first of four SLC Coach of the Year awards that season.
Hayes still remains as the only Warhawk in history to record 10 steals in a single game as he did it against McNeese State in a regular season game. Hayes ranks fourth all-time in ULM history in steals with 66 and 2.3 per game, and fifth in career starts with 91.
Also still in the career record book top-10, Jenkins is fourth all-time with a .543 shooting percentage. Brian Spencer is fourth in games played with 115, seventh in steals with 124 and 10th in assists with 277. Gerard Phillips is seventh in career games played with 112.
Current ULM head coach Keith Richard was in his second season as a Graduate Assistant with the team.
For more details on the anniversary, contact Luke Richard at the men's basketball office at 318-342-3828.
