THE RUNDOWN
Score: UT Arlington 71, ULM 55
Teams: ULM (6-13, 0-6 SBC)
UT Arlington (14-5, 4-2 SBC)
Location: College Park Center/ Arlington, Texas
Arlington, Texas – The ULM men's basketball team struggled down the stretch against UTA Saturday and ultimately could not overcome the 19-2 run by the Mavericks to close the game as the hosts handed the Warhawks a 71-55 loss on Saturday in Sun Belt Conference play.
THE TURNING POINT
-The Mavericks defense stifled the Warhawks down the stretch, holding ULM without a field goal over the final 10:19 on the way to the 16 point victory for UT Arlington. During that stretch the Mavericks outscored the Warhawks 19-2.
NOTABLES
-Jordon Harris was a spark for the Warhawks, pacing the team with 19 points off the bench. Harris tied a season-high with five threes and also added four assists.
-Senior guard Nick Coppola hit another milestone on Saturday, becaming the school record holder with his 118th career start. In the game, Coppola had 11 points while he played 40 minutes for the 43rd time in his career.
-For the second straight game, Travis Munnings matched his season-high with 13 rebounds, including tying a career-high with six offensive rebounds. Munnings also added nine points and five assists in the loss.
-The Warhawks continued their strong play on the offensive glass on Saturday as they grabbed 13 offensive rebounds. As a team, the Warhawks have now had 12 games with double figure rebounding performances through their first 19 games this season. Munnings leads the Warhawks with 46 offensive rebounds while Sam McDaniel follows closely behind with 37 rebounds on the offensive end.
-Senior Nick Coppola now sits with 492 assists over his three-plus seasons with the Warhawks. He is just eight assists away from becoming just the sixth active NCAA Division I player to have 1,000 points and 500 assists in his career.
-The Mavericks were paced by Jalen Jones with 23 points on 9-of-17 field goal shooting, while Jorge Bilbao added 13 points and a career-best 15 rebounds for the Mavericks.
QUOTABLES
Head Coach Keith Richard
Thought on the game: We obviously struggled offensively the last 10 minutes of the game. It puts so much pressure on our defense when we don't keep pace on offense. Our effort was good enough but you have to consistently put the ball in the basket to win games and that's not happening enough for us right now.
UP NEXT
-Following Saturday's contest, the Warhawks now travel to San Marcos, Texas to battle Texas State with tip slated for 7:00 p.m. on Monday night..
