DALLAS – SMU put together a 15-2 run early in the second half to pull away from ULM for an 83-65 victory Sunday, as the Mustangs extended their winning streak in Moody Coliseum to 24 consecutive games – the NCAA's third-longest active streak. ULM led by as many as six points in the first half and trailed by just four at halftime, 35-31.
 
There were four ties and seven lead changes in the first half. Michael Ertel's three-pointer sparked a 5-0 ULM run, as the Warhawks built a 14-10 lead five-and-a-half minutes into the game. ULM used another 5-1 spurt midway through the first half to take a 19-13 lead on a jumper by Sam McDaniel. SMU responded with a 9-0 run and moved out to a 22-19 lead on Ben Emelogu's three-pointer. Ertel's third trey of the first half gave the Warhawks a 27-26 lead with 4:02 left. The Mustangs answered with five-straight points to gain a 31-27 advantage, but ULM pulled even again at 31-all on McDaniel's jumper with 1:03 remaining. SMU made four-straight free throws in the final minute to take a 35-31 lead into the locker room.
 
SMU led for 8:33 in the opening 20 minutes, while the Warhawks held the upper hand for 8:03. ULM forced the Mustangs into 11 first-half turnovers and converted those miscues into 14 points. The Warhawks also outrebounded SMU, 21-16, in the opening half.
 
Trailing by six points early in the second half, ULM used a 9-4 run to cut the deficit to one at 43-42 on Roderick Taylor's jumper from the right side of the lane. Ethan Chargois (eight points) and Shake Milton (five points) combined for 13 points during SMU's decisive 15-2 run midway through the second half. A jumper by Chargois gave the Mustangs a 14-point lead at 58-44 with 9:58 remaining. The Warhawks went scoreless for 3:23 during that stretch. A three-pointer from William Douglas gave SMU its largest lead at 83-62 with 31 seconds left.
 
Milton, the Preseason American Athletic Conference Player of the Year, scored a game-high 24 points, while Chargois netted 18 of his 23 points in the second half. SMU (2-0) shot 59 percent (17-of-29) from the field in the second half, connecting on 7-of-12 three-point field-goal attempts (58 percent). The Mustangs outrebounded ULM, 36-33, and outscored the Warhawks, 28-14, in the paint.
 
"That's a very good team," ULM head coach Keith Richard said. "SMU won 30 games last year and they've got three key players back. Milton is an NBA prospect. He's a really good player, who is the focal point of their offense. When SMU needs a basket, his teammates get him the ball and something good usually happens.
 
"We've had problems defensively in the second half of our two preseason scrimmages and these first two games, so it's been a recurring theme. That's bothersome and something that needs to be addressed.
 
"We knew there were going to be some normal growing pains early in the season, but there are some positives to take away from this road trip," Richard continued. "I really like our fight; the guys really competed for a great portion of both these games at TCU and SMU. We shot the ball well from the perimeter, but we need to fix some things.
 
"We played two teams in TCU and SMU that are taller than the teams we'll face in our league. I'm really glad we did this short two-game road trip because it mirrors our conference travel schedule, so our guys will draw from this experience."
 
For the second-straight game, four ULM players scored in double figures, including McDaniel and Marvin Jean-Pierre, who tossed in 14 points each. Ertel, who went scoreless in his collegiate debut Friday at TCU, hit 4-of-7 three-pointers and finished with 12 points, while Jordon Harris added 11 points. Jean-Pierre also collected a team-high eight rebounds.
 
"We shot the ball well from the three-point line again at 44 percent (11-of-25)," Richard said. "Michael (Ertel), Jordon (Harris) and Sam (McDaniel) all knocked down three-point shots. We've been a good perimeter shooting team, but we have to become more than a three-point shooting team.
 
"We haven't scored well from inside in these first two games. Basketball is still a game where the team with the most layups normally wins. We can't be just a three-point shooting team. We have to establish something in the post, find ways to score off the dribble and in transition."
 
ULM (0-2) opens a four-game homestand in Fant-Ewing Coliseum against Southeastern Louisiana on Thursday, Nov. 21, with tipoff set for 7 p.m.
 
"A four-game homestand, especially in November, is something to be excited about," Richard said. "We need to play at home."