Daishon Smith dribble vs. LSU 2018
MG Miller
69
ULM ULM 7-5
81
Winner LSU LSU 10-3
ULM ULM
7-5
69
Final
81
LSU LSU
10-3
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
ULM ULM 33 36 69
LSU LSU 42 39 81

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Smith, Ertel Combine to Score 43, but ULM Falls at LSU, 81-69

BATON ROUGE, La. – Naz Reid recorded his first career double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds to lead LSU to an 81-69 victory over ULM Friday, Dec. 28 in the final non-conference game for both teams. Reid, who hit 7-of-10 shots from the field, set season highs for rebounds and blocked shots (4).
 
The first half featured four lead changes and two ties. LSU (10-3) scored the first five points of the game and took an 11-5 lead on Tremont Waters' 3-pointer out of the left corner. Daishon Smith sparked a 9-0 run by ULM, hitting a 3-pointer from the left baseline and converting two steals into layups, as the Warhawks moved out to a 14-11 lead with 14:30 left in the first half. The Tigers answered with a 7-0 spurt and took an 18-14 lead on a layup from Darius Days with 12:25 remaining in the opening half. ULM responded with a 7-2 run and regained the lead at 21-20 as Jontray Harris buried a trey from the right corner in transition with 9:42 on the clock. LSU outscored the Warhawks, 10-4, over the final 4:26 and took a 42-33 lead into the locker room as Skylar Mays rattled home a 3-pointer from the right wing with :05 left in the first half.
 
The Tigers converted ULM's 13 first-half turnovers into 15 points.
 
ULM (7-5) opened the second half with an 8-1 run and cut its deficit to 43-41 on back-to-back 3-pointers from Smith and Michael Ertel. LSU put together a 10-3 run and extended its lead to 55-46 on Marlon Taylor's alley-oop dunk, off an assist from Waters, with 14:07 remaining in the game. The Tigers used a 10-1 spurt to build a 15-point lead at 67-52 on a layup from Waters with 10:16 left. Tyree White connected on a 3-pointer from the left corner and Ertel and Harris followed with 3s from the right wing as the Warhawks managed to pull to within 67-61 with 8:58 to play. LSU took control of the game with a 10-0 run and built its largest lead at 77-61 as Emmitt Williams finished a fast break with a dunk. ULM went 8:46 without a field goal in the second half, missing 12-straight field-goal attempts during that stretch.
 
"LSU's physical play wore us down in the second half," ULM head coach Keith Richard said. "They get some extra points because of their size and strength inside. They scored off offensive rebounds and post touches for layups. Even their guards are strong and physical; they seek contact on drives to the basket.
 
"Their physical play caused some turnovers, especially in the first half. We panicked a little bit and didn't show a lot of composure. We had 13 turnovers at the half because we couldn't handle LSU's physical, defensive play.
 
"We cut LSU's lead to six with about nine minutes left in the game. We had shown a little composure by taking care of the basketball. We had calmed down on offense and began running our offense and getting good shots. That's how we got back into the game. Then bam, we have two quick turnovers and LSU got out on the break and pushed the lead back out there.
 
"We played some good minutes but not quite good enough to beat LSU tonight," Richard continued. "Give LSU a lot of credit because this is what they've done in most of their wins this year. But I told the team in the locker room that if we can learn from this game moving forward, then it will be a real benefit for us. If we can learn from tonight and improve, then this experience was well worth it."
 
Reid led five Tigers in double figures, as Mays scored 14 points, Williams 12, Waters 11 and Ja'vonte Smart 10.
 
LSU shot 52 percent (32-of-61) from the floor, including 8-of-21 from 3-point range. The Tigers outrebounded, 35-34, including a 20-12 margin in the second half.
 
Smith and Ertel combined to account for 43 of ULM's 69 points. Smith, who made 7-of-12 field-goal attempts including 2-of-5 3s, finished with a game-high 22 points, while Ertel matched his season high with 21 points, hitting 6-of-12 shots from the floor including 4-of-6 3-pointers.
 
"Daishon Smith and Mike Ertel certainly looked like they belonged out here tonight," Richard said. "They're two good guards, and they showed it with their performances. They're not as big and strong as the LSU guard, but they've got their own games. They played really well and represented us very, very well."
 
Next week, the Warhawks open Sun Belt play with a two-game homestand against Little Rock (Thursday, Jan. 3 at 7 p.m.) and Arkansas State (Saturday, Jan. 5 at 2 p.m.). ULM will play five of its first seven league games in Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
 
"We've learned a lot about ourselves during the non-conference schedule, so we're well prepared for conference play," Richard said. "We played four Power 5 schools, which had a lot of size and strength, and all four of them wore us down in the second half, but we won't see that kind of size within our league. In the other eight games against mid-to-low major teams, we fared very well with one exception. Our non-conference schedule exposed some of our weaknesses, but it also revealed some of our strengths.
 
"As I told the team following the game, we're zero-and-zero, heading into the 18-game conference grind. I really like where our team's at here at the end of December, and we have a chance to become a really good team in our league. Our focus needs to be on improving throughout conference play.
 
"I can't remember the last time we opened conference play with five of the first seven games at home," Richard continued. "Obviously, we've played well at home (5-0) this season, and we need to keep it going."

 
Print Friendly Version