THE RUNDOWN
Score: Arkansas State 73, ULM 63
Teams: ULM (6-15, 0-8 SBC)
Arkansas State (15-6, 6-2 SBC)
Location: Fant-Ewing Coliseum/Monroe, La.
Monroe, La. – The ULM men's basketball team could not overcome a second half onslaught from beyond the arc from visiting Arkansas State in route to the Warhawks' eighth straight Sun Belt Conference loss, 73-63 on Saturday afternoon.
THE TURNING POINT
-After taking a one-point lead into halftime, the Warhawks could not hold back Arkansas State and its red hot shooting from deep in the second half. The Red Wolves went 8-of-14 from three-point range in the second half to help them to the road victory.
NOTABLES
-Senior guard Nick Coppola led the Warhawks with 19 points on 6-of-12 shooting. Coppola also matched a career-high with five three pointers made. He previously knocked down five three pointers back on February 21, 2015, also against Arkansas State.
-Sam McDaniel added 15 points while going 5-of-10 from the floor and grabbing seven rebounds. Travis Munnings added 14 points in the contest to round out the ULM double-digit scorers.
-Freshman Sam Alabakis finished with a career-high eight points as he made his 10th start of the season. Alabakis was a perfect three-of-three from the floor while adding four rebounds and playing a career-high 29 minutes.
-Specialty stats had an interesting split on Saturday, as both the Warhawks and Red Wolves led in several categories. ULM had a 26-24 points in the paint advantage while Arkansas State had a 14-4 advantage in points off turnovers, a 6-0 advantage in fast break points and 28-15 in bench scoring.
-Arkansas State had a balanced scoring attack on Saturday with nine different Red Wolves scoring, including a team-high 15 points from Rashad Lindsey. The Red Wolves had 20 assists on Saturday on 24 made baskets, including eight from Donte Thomas and five from Deven Simms.
-After tonight's game, Coppola now sits with 496 assists over his three-plus seasons with the Warhawks. He is just four assists away from becoming just the eighth active NCAA Division I player to have 1,000 points and 500 assists in his career.
-Coach Richard and his staff are joined fellow coaching staffs throughout the country in trading their dress shoes for basketball sneakers as part of Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers Week during this week's games. Also this season, the coaching staffs will lace up their sneakers with a special pair of Princess Lacey's Laces, in memory of 8-year-old Lacey Holsworth, who was an avid basketball fan. She formed a close bond with former Michigan State basketball star Adreian Payne, and he became a close friend, visiting her at the hospital and inviting her to games.
QUOTABLES
Head Coach Keith Richard
Thought on the game: We weren't quite as good defensively in the second half and they hurt us with the three ball. We gave up some easy baskets in the second half and then struggled to defend the three ball. All of our guys played their hearts out this afternoon and had great effort but we still don't have a win to show for it.
UP NEXT
-The Warhawks now stay at home for a Monday night matchup with the Little Rock Trojans. The game with Little Rock will tip at 7:00 p.m. at Fant-Ewing Coliseum. In the Warhawks first meeting with the Trojans, they were clipped 79-75 in overtime in Little Rock on Dec. 31, 2016.
