JONESBORO, Ark. – The ULM men's basketball trailed by nine points in overtime when it stormed back to make it a one-point game, but Arkansas State was able to hang on for a 68-65 result on Thursday at the Convocation Center.
In regulation, ULM (6-8, 2-1 SBC) held a 53-46 edge with 3:53 remaining before the Red Wolves (7-7, 3-0 SBC) got hot and came back to lead, 56-54 with six seconds left. Junior Nick Coppola was fouled with one second remaining and hit a pair of free throws to send the game to overtime.
ASU's comeback in regulation was helped by ULM going 6-16 from the free throw line in the second half.
The Red Wolves scored the first nine points of overtime to go up 65-56 with 1:02 remaining after four made field goals including a three. Deng hit a three-pointer, and after ASU made one of two free throws, Coppola hit from long-range to cut the deficit to 66-62 with 26 seconds left. ULM stole the next in-bounds pass and Deng hit a three from the top of the key to make it 66-65 with 21 seconds.
After ASU made a pair of free throws, ULM attempted a tough three-pointer from the corner that resulted in a held-ball, but the Red Wolves had the possession arrow with under seven seconds left. The Warhawks had one last chance after ASU missed a pair of free throws, but a potential game-tying three-pointer at the buzzer was off the mark.
Senior Majok Deng finished with 26 points and seven rebounds. He recorded 24 points after halftime. Senior Jamaal Samuel ended with 15 points, all coming in the first half. Senior Justin Roberson also notched double-figures with 10 points and also grabbed four steals.
Deng and Coppola played 42 minutes apiece while Roberson logged a career-high 41 minutes. Coppola finished with eight points and five assists.
The Red Wolves saw three players score 12 points: Sean Gardner, Donte Thomas and Nouhoum Bocoum. Devin Carter pitched in with 11 points.
The Warhawks were down 20-14 with 4:06 left in the first half when Samuel caught fire as he hit three consecutive three-pointers to spark a 13-2 run to end the half. Samuel also had a lay-in during the spurt as he had 15 points at the break. The Warhawks led, 27-22.
A three-pointer by Coppola early in the second half extended ULM's lead to 33-24. The Red Wolves came back with a 9-0 run to tie it, 33-33 with 13:52 to go. Deng hit a three-pointer to make it 38-35 ULM, but ASU answered with six straight points as the Warhawks called a timeout trailing 41-38 with 10:02 remaining.
The Red Wolves were up 44-40 when Deng hit a turn-around jumper and then a three-pointer to put the Warhawks back on top, 45-44 with 6:40 to go. Another three from Deng followed by a fast-break bucket and a three-pointer by Roberson made it 53-46 ULM at the 3:53 mark.
A made free throw by Frederic Dure followed by a three-pointer by Josh Pierre saw ULM's lead dwindle to 53-50 with 2:37 remaining. After ASU got a stop defensively, Carter made a three to tie it with 2:06 to go. The Red Wolves were able to draw fouls, and free throws gave them a 56-54 edge with just six seconds left. Coppola drew a shooting foul after a drive from the right wing with one second remaining and made both free throws to send the game to overtime.
ASU's leading scorer, Anthony Livingston, entered the game averaging 15.6 points per game but was held to eight points.
The Warhawks will close out the weekend at Little Rock at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday. Follow the ULM men's basketball program on Twitter, @ULM_MBB, for live in-game updates.
NOTES
- ULM has held SBC opponents to under 75 points in 31 straight games including postseason play
- The Warhawks committed just eight turnovers in the game, a season-low
- Deng entered the game leading the Sun Belt Conference in scoring with 19.8 points per game on the season and 24.0 per outing in league play and upped it with 26 points. He also entered the game ranking third in the league in blocks (1.3 bpg) and swatted away a pair. It was his fifth 20-plus scoring game of the season and seventh of his career. Deng has scored at least 16 points in seven straight outings and double-figures in 18 of 19 games dating back to last season. It was his 35th career double-figure scoring game
- Samuel reached double-figures for the eighth time this year and 16th time in his career. He went 6-11 from the field and 3-6 from three
- Roberson tallied his fifth consecutive double-figure scoring game, eighth this season and 23rd of his career. His 41 minutes topped his career-high of 40 set last year at Troy. It was the third time this year he had at least four steals
- Coppola played at least 40 minutes for the 28th time in his career. He ranks eighth all-time in career assists with 295 and needs five more to catch John Pickett and move into seventh
- The Warhawks entered the game ranking top-50 in the nation in three-point field goal percentage defense at a .304 clip and limited ASU to a .300 (6-20) mark. After three league games, ULM has held its opponents to a .203 percentage overall from three
