ARLINGTON, Texas – Senior Mack Foster scored seven of ULM's last 11 points in the game to guide the men's basketball program to its fifth straight victory, 64-61 over UT Arlington on Saturday at the College Park Center.
Foster, who entered the game with a season-high of five points, was called upon after two different ULM student-athletes fouled out. The Warhawks (15-12, 11-5 SBC) led by one with 2:02 left when Foster drilled his second three-pointer of the game to push the lead up to 58-54.
The Mavs (18-8, 9-6 SBC) answered with a lay-up and a three-pointer to take a 59-58 edge with 1:06 remaining. On ULM's next possession, the Warhawks were off the mark on a jumper when Foster came flying in on the offensive rebound and tipped in the go-ahead bucket with 38 seconds left.
ULM got stops defensively and made its final four free throws, a pair from both junior Nick Coppola and senior Majok Deng, to seal the victory.
Foster finished the game with 10 points and five rebounds in 17 minutes. He went 3-4 from the field, 2-2 from long-range and 2-2 from the charity stripe. Foster also got his hands on a pair of steals in the contest.
Coppola scored a game-high 19 points and also recorded six assists and three steals in 40 minutes. Senior Justin Roberson also finished in double-figures with 10 points and eight rebounds.
The Mavs were determined to stop Deng defensively, and the league's leading scorer finished with nine points, nine rebounds and a career-high nine blocks in 40 minutes. Deng is the reigning Sun Belt Conference Student-Athlete of the Week, Louisiana Player of the Week and College Sports Madness SBC Player of the Week winner.
Jorge Bilbao led the Mavs with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Kaelon Wilson also pitched in with 12 points and six rebounds.
The defensive battle saw ULM shoot 22-60 (.367) and UTA went 21-60 (.350). ULM outrebounded the Mavs, 44-39.
ULM trailed 9-7 early when it went on a 7-0 run, capped by inside bucket by senior DeMondre Harvey, to go up 14-9 with 12:30 remaining. The Warhawks went up by seven, 18-11, after Deng tipped in his own shot with 8:41 left. Coppola buried a three-pointer at the two-minute mark to make it a 26-18 game.
The Mavs scored the final four points of the half, but ULM took a 26-22 lead into the break.
UTA came out hot in the second half and quickly evened the score, 29-29 with 18:03 remaining. ULM led 42-41 when Roberson converted an old-fashion three-point play to go up 45-41 with 12:48 left.
The Mavs responded with a 6-0 run to take their first lead of the half, 47-45 with 9:49 to go. The Warhawks went back on top, 48-47 after a three-pointer by Foster at the 9:03 mark.
The teams exchanged blows the entire way and the game stayed even, 50-50 with 7:38 remaining. The lead changed nine times in the contest.
Up next, the Warhawks will play their third of a four-game road swing on Thursday when travel to South Alabama for a 7:05 p.m. tip.
NOTES
- ULM improved to 49-16 all-time against UTA and 18-9 on the road. The Warhawks swept the season series after winning the first meeting this year, 99-88
- The Warhrawks have won nine of their last 10 games since switching their starting lineup to Coppola, Roberson, Deng, senior Jamaal Samuel and Harvey. They have won five-straight conference games for the third time in the last two seasons
- ULM holds a 25-11 SBC record over the last two seasons, best in the league
- The Warhawks entered the game ranked second in the conference in assists (13.8 apg) and dished out 15 in the match
- ULM pulled down 15 offensive rebounds and outscored the Mavs 19-6 in second-chance points
- In the previous 13 games, Foster scored a total of 14 points. He hadn't hit a three-pointer since Dec. 3, 2015 in the conference opener against UL-Lafayette. Foster registered his fifth career double-figure scoring game and first this season
- Coppola moved up to third all-time in ULM history in career assists with 368, surpassing Bob Carson who dished out 365 from 1969-73. He also moved up to eighth all-time in three-pointers made with 129 after going 4-7 in the game. Coppola played at least 40 minutes for the 34th time in his career. It was his 44th career double-figure scoring game, 16th this season and fourth in the last five games
- Roberson reached double-digits in scoring for the 10th time in the last 11 contests. It was his 34th career double-figure scoring game and 19th this year. His eight rebounds neared his career-high of nine set twice
- Deng's nine blocks were the most by a Warhawk since March 2, 2002 when Wojciech Myrda swatted away 13 against Texas-San Antonio. He moved up to No. 5 all-time in ULM career blocks with 91. Deng entered the game shooting a team-best .818 from the free throw line and went 4-4 in the game
Quoting ULM head coach Keith Richard
On Mack Foster
“Player of the game. It was the first thing I mentioned in the locker room. It's been a tough year for him but he's kept his poise. He's stayed the course, and boy, did he make some big three-pointers. Big shots, big free throws and a big tip-in. Mack Foster, player of the game.”
On Majok Deng
“They did a good job on Majok defensively and at times he got frustrated. But he had nine blocks and he was a big factor for us defensively. He was a good player in a different kind of way and he needs to know that, it's not all about scoring.”
On the flow of the game
“The game ended up being a defensive battle from both teams. We haven't been in one like this in a while. It was certainly nice to see us close in the last two minutes by making plays on both offense and defense.”
On UT Arlington
“UTA has an excellent team, and is certainly one of the better teams in the league. They are a lot like us in the sense that they are capable of beating any team on any night.”
