Sam McDaniel layup vs South Alabama 2018
John O'Dell
66
Winner ULM ULM 14-12 (8-7 SBC)
62
South Alabama USA 14-14 (7-8 SBC)
Winner
ULM ULM
14-12 (8-7 SBC)
66
Final
62
South Alabama USA
14-14 (7-8 SBC)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
ULM ULM 32 34 66
South Alabama USA 30 32 62

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Defense Keeps Winning Streak Alive; ULM Holds Off USA, 66-62

Sam McDaniel and Michael Ertel combined for 36 points as ULM extended its Sun Belt winning streak to five games.

MOBILE, Ala. – Sam McDaniel and Michael Ertel combined for 36 points as ULM extended its Sun Belt winning streak to five games with a 66-62 victory at South Alabama Thursday (Feb. 22) night. The Warhawks (14-12) have won seven of their last eight conference games, climbing from 12th (1-6) in the standings into a tie for third place at 8-7.
 
There were three ties and eight lead changes in the game as ULM recorded its third-straight road win in league play.
 
South Alabama (14-14, 7-8) jumped out to a 12-9 lead on Joe Thompson's rebound goal with 13:13 left in the first half. ULM put together a 9-0 run to build an 18-12 lead with 10:30 remaining in the opening half, as Marvin Jean-Pierre took a feed from Travis Munnings and finished off the fast break with a layup. A 3-pointer from Jordon Harris out of the left corner sparked a 14-5 spurt as the Warhawks moved out to their largest lead at 32-21 on Ertel's 18-foot jumper from straightaway with 2:46 on the clock. USA closed the first half with a 9-0 run to cut its halftime deficit to 32-30 on Dederick Lee's 3 from the top of the circle.
 
Ertel's 3-pointer from the right wing gave ULM a 36-30 advantage with 18:30 left in the second half. The Jaguars tied the score at 39 as Josh Ajayi drove the lane for a layup with 13:45 remaining. Jean-Pierre scored off an offensive rebound and followed with a layup as the Warhawks built a 43-39 lead with 12:31 on the clock. USA responded with a 7-2 spurt and regained the lead at 46-45 on Lee's 3-pointer from the top of the circle with 9:40 to play. ULM got back-to-back 3-pointers from Sam McDaniel and Harris to reclaim the lead at 51-46 with 8:53 left. Trailing 53-49, the Jaguars scored seven-straight points to match their largest lead at 56-53 on Trhae Mitchell's reverse layup with 4:01 remaining. Munnings buried a 3-pointer from the top of the circle to tie the score at 56 with 3:47 to play, and he fueled a 9-0 run as ULM seized a 62-56 advantage with 38 seconds left. The Warhawks converted 7-of-10 free-throw attempts over the final 70 seconds to ice the game.
 
The two teams hit a combined 43-of-116 shots (37 percent) from the field, including 16-of-63 3-point attempts (25 percent).
 
"South Alabama might want to consider giving the spectators a refund because both teams were brutal offensively," ULM head basketball coach Keith Richard joked. "Our team showed a lot of grit and fight on the defensive end of the floor. It's kind of neat to win a game like this because we wouldn't have won this type of game six weeks ago.
 
"We made the critical plays down the stretch. We were down three with four minutes to go but quickly turned it back into a six-point lead. We had a few nice moments on offense and made enough plays on defense to close it out.
 
"We've gotten better defensively, and the conference stats indicate that because the numbers continue getting lower and lower each week," Richard continued. "We have good kids, and most importantly, they're still listening.
 
"We weren't very good offensively. We shot 36 percent from the field, 28 percent behind the 3-point line and 62 percent from the free-throw line. Those numbers are brutal, but the four-point win is outstanding. I'm not going to get bent out of shape about those shooting percentages. If you're going to become a good team or have a good season, you have to win some games like this when things aren't picture perfect."
 
McDaniel hit 4-of-8 3-pointers and led four ULM starters in double figures with 19 points, followed by Ertel who finished with 17. Jean-Pierre played a solid all-around game, contributing 14 points, nine rebounds and four assists, while Munnings recorded his third double-double of the season and 14th of his career with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Those four starters played the entire 40 minutes.
 
"Once again, we had four guys score in double figures," Richard said. "When we get balanced scoring, we're a hard team to guard and play against because we share the ball and spread the floor.
 
"Travis (Munnings) didn't have his best night shooting the ball (2-of-12 from the field), but he hit a huge 3 to tie the game at 56 and made some big free throws late. He still managed to post a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds."  
 
Sikes, who made 6-of-13 field-goal attempts including 3-of-9 3-pointers, paced the USA attack with 19 points. The Jaguars also got 12 points from Ajayi and 10 from Herb McGee.
 
"Rodrick Sikes had 12 points in the first half, but Marvin Jean-Pierre was locked in defensively and held him to just seven points in the second half," Richard said. "Marvin quietly almost had a double-double, finishing with 14 points and nine rebounds. He's our best athlete on the perimeter."
 
ULM looks for its second consecutive Sun Belt road sweep when it visits Troy on Saturday, Feb. 24. Tipoff is set for 4:15 p.m. CT.
 
"I really don't care about the conference standings right now," Richard said. "The focus is to just keep playing the way we're playing. We'll keep preaching and working on the things that we've been doing for the last five weeks."

 
Print Friendly Version