Game 15: ULM (9-5, 2-0) vs. GEORGIA SOUTHERN (9-6, 1-1)
Thursday, Jan. 10 | 7 p.m. ET
Statesboro, Ga. | Hanner Fieldhouse (3,897)
ULM Basketball Notes: Game 15 vs. Georgia Southern
STORYLINE –
Following a home sweep over Little Rock (97-84) and Arkansas State (85-75) to open Sun Belt Conference play, ULM (9-5) begins a two-game road swing at Georgia Southern (9-6, 1-1) on Thursday, Jan. 10 (7 p.m. ET tipoff). The Warhawks have won six of their last seven games overall.
ULM's starting lineup features four double-figure scorers, in 6-foot-1 guard Daishon Smith (21.1 points per game; 41 3-pointers), 6-2 guard Michael Ertel (14.3 ppg.), 6-6 forward Travis Munnings (13.6 ppg., 6.7 rpg.), and 6-4 guard JD Williams (12.6 ppg.).
THE STARTING FIVE –
• At 9-5, ULM has matched its best 14-game start since the 1999-2000 season. The Warhawks finished the 1999-2000 campaign with an overall record of 19-9, including a second-place finish in the Southland Conference standings at 13-5.
• ULM is 7-1 this season when limiting its opponents to 69 points or less. The Warhawks have held four opponents to a field-goal percentage below 39 percent. Only three opponents (Ole Miss .524, LSU .525 and Little Rock .620) have managed to shoot better than 50 percent from the field against ULM.
The Warhawks also have made more free throws (236) as their opponents have attempted (229) this season. Through the first 14 games, ULM has outscored its opponents, 236-150, from the free-throw line.
• ULM leads the Sun Belt in three different statistical categories: 3-point field-goal percentage (seventh in NCAA Division I at .412), 3-point field goals made (9.7 per game) and free-throw percentage (.764). The Warhawks also rank among the league leaders in scoring defense (second at 69.5 points per game), assist-to-turnover ratio (second at 1.2), scoring margin (fourth at +6.8 ppg.), turnover margin (fourth at +2.6), 3-point field-goal percentage defense (fifth at .325) and field-goal percentage defense (sixth at .432).
• ULM senior guard Daishon Smith, who averaged 33.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game while leading the Warhawks to a home sweep over Little Rock (97-84) and Arkansas State (85-75) to open Sun Belt Conference play, has been named National Mid-Major Player of the Week by the Lou Henson Award and College Sports Madness.
The 6-foot-1 transfer from Wichita State shot 66 percent (21-of-32) from the field, including 70 percent (14-of-20) from 3-point range, and 91 percent (10-of-11) from the free-throw line.
Smith scored a career-high 42 points in ULM's 97-84 victory over Little Rock in the Sun Belt opener for both teams. He hit 14-of-19 field-goal attempts against the Trojans, including a school-record 10 3-pointers.
Smith netted a game-high 24 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the floor, including 4-of-8 from beyond the 3-point arc, in ULM's 85-75 win over Arkansas State.
• ULM has compiled an 8-2 record with senior guard Daishon Smith in the starting lineup (sidelined for three games with a hamstring injury; DNP in road games at Texas, Michigan State and Tennessee Tech). Smith ranks among the NCAA Division I leaders in 3-point field-goal percentage (second at .519), 3-point field goals made (eighth at 3.73 per game) and scoring (27th at 21.1 points per game). He leads the Sun Belt in two different statistical categories: 3-point field-goal percentage and 3-point field goals made. Smith also ranks among the league leaders in scoring (second at 21.1 ppg.), free-throw percentage (second at .855), steals (fourth at 1.9 pg.), field-goal percentage (fifth at .523), assist-to-turnover ratio (seventh at 1.5) and assists (tied for 11th at 3.0 pg.).
The Jacksonville, Florida, native has scored in double figures in 10 games, including six 20-point outings. Smith has scored in double figures in seven-straight games, averaging 23.3 points during that span.
THE LAST TIME OUT –
ULM 85, Arkansas State 75 (Jan. 5, 2019, in Monroe, La.): ULM ran hot and cold Saturday at Fant-Ewing Coliseum yet had enough firepower at home to squeeze out an 85-75 win over Arkansas State.
The Warhawks moved to 9-5 overall and 2-0 in the Sun Belt Conference as four players reached double figures in scoring. Daishon Smith, who scored 42 the last time out, led the Warhawks with 24 points in the win. Michael Ertel added 19 points with JD Williams and Travis Munnings scoring 18 each.
ULM saw a 19-point first-half lead disappear as Arkansas State (7-8, 1-1) drew perilously close at three points, 56-53, midway through the second half. Over the final 20 minutes, ULM shot 35.7 percent while the visitors shot 54.8 percent to make their run.
Munnings, who added nine rebounds to the cause, came up big throughout the contest.
ULM shooters had the hotter hand early.
Munnings knocked down a 3-pointer to open the game and spearheaded ULM's 10-3 start with five points. The Warhawks continued to rain 3s, making 6-of-11 while building their advantage to 24-8 with 11:43 to go in the first half.
Ertel's runner with 1:29 showing gave ULM its biggest lead at 19, 46-27, and the Warhawks entered halftime up 48-32. Smith's 13 points led ULM scorers, with 11 coming from Ertel and nine from Munnings.
With an Arkansas State 7-0 burst to open the second half, the lead shrunk to 48-39. ULM went scoreless and was 0-for-8 from the floor until a driving dunk by Williams with 16:09 showing.
The Red Wolves continued to climb back, whittling the lead to 55-49 on Ty Cockfield's jumper with 11:57 left in the game as ULM was outscored, 17-7, coming out of the break. Cockfield, who came in percentage points behind Smith for top scorer in the Sun Belt, led his team with 20 points, with 16 coming in the second half.
The deficit was down to three when Smith sank a 3 from the top of the circle with 9:15 to go for a 59-53 edge. Then a Smith steal and layup had ULM up 10 at 63-53.
The Red Wolves could get no closer than six points in the final six minutes as ULM worked through its cold spell and handled business at the free-throw line. The Warhawks were 24-of-28 overall and 15-of-18 from the line in the second half.
GEORGIA SOUTHERN SCOUTING REPORT –
Georgia Southern (9-6) earned a road split during the opening week of Sun Belt Conference play, with a loss at Texas State (73-70) followed by a win at UT Arlington (77-64). The 13-point victory at UTA snapped a three-game losing streak. The Eagles are 4-1 in games played in Hanner Fieldhouse this season.
Georgia Southern's starting lineup features three double-figure scorers, in 6-foot-4 guard Quan Jackson (16.3 points per game), 5-11 guard Tookie Brown (15.8 ppg.) and 6-7 forward Isaiah Crawley (11.3 ppg.).
Jackson has scored in double figures in 12 of 13 games, including five 20-point efforts. He netted a game-high 21 points at UTA. Jackson leads the Sun Belt and ranks No. 19 in NCAA Division in steals, averaging 2.4 per game.
Brown ranks eighth among active NCAA Division I players in scoring with 1,955 career points. He also ranks 10th among all-time leading scorers in Sun Belt history.
Crawley has scored in double figures in seven of his last eight games, averaging 14.0 points during that stretch.
Georgia Southern leads the Sun Belt in scoring (85.4 ppg.), field-goal percentage (.504) and turnover margin (+3.6 pg.). The Eagles also rank among the NCAA Division I leaders in both scoring (No. 13) and field-goal percentage (No. 13).
In addition, Georgia Southern is listed among the league leaders in scoring margin (second at +8.6 ppg.), steals (third at 8.1 pg.), 3-point field-goal percentage defense (sixth at .331), assists (sixth at 13.7 pg.) and blocked shots (sixth at 4.1 pg.).
ULM/GEORGIA SOUTHERN SERIES NOTES –
Saturday's game marks the 20th meeting between ULM and Georgia Southern. The Warhawks lead the all-time series, 11-8, including a 5-4 record in games played in Statesboro. The Eagles have won six of the last nine meetings overall. Four of the last five games in the series have been decided by eight points or less.
Last season, ULM won the only regular-season meeting in Statesboro, 66-64, in overtime while Georgia Southern won the rematch in the Sun Belt Championship quarterfinals, 63-55, in New Orleans.
THE LAST MEETING –
Georgia Southern 63, ULM 55 (March 9, 2018, in New Orleans): Tookie Brown and Mike Hughes combined for 24 points to lead Georgia Southern to a 63-55 victory over ULM in the 2018 Sun Belt Championship quarterfinals.
Georgia Southern put together a 9-0 run and built an 11-point lead at 16-5 on a 3-pointer from David-Lee Jones Jr. with 13:13 to play in the first half. The Eagles led 34-28 at the intermission.
ULM opened the second half with a 12-3 spurt and took a 38-37 lead on two free throws by Michael Ertel with 12:47 left in the second half. Georgia Southern answered with a 14-2 run and matched its largest lead at 51-40 on Brown's layup with 5:30 left. The Warhawks went 1-of-14 from the field and committed two turnovers during that seven-minute stretch. ULM cut its deficit to six at 51-45 on Sam McDaniel's 3-pointer with 4:36 remaining but failed to close the margin any further.
Georgia Southern shot 43 percent (20-of-46) from the floor while ULM managed to hit just 30 percent (19-of-64) of its field-goal attempts. The Eagles outscored the Warhawks, 19-6, from the free-throw line.
ULM got 13 points each from Ertel, McDaniel and Marvin Jean-Pierre. McDaniel also pulled down 11 rebounds to finish with a double-double. Jean-Pierre scored 10 of his 13 points in the first half.
THE LAST MEETING IN STATESBORO –
ULM 66, Georgia Southern 64 – overtime (Feb. 8, 2018): Travis Munnings and Sam McDaniel combined for 49 points to lead ULM to its first road win of the 2017-18 season, a 66-64 overtime victory over Georgia Southern in Hanner Fieldhouse. McDaniel's 3-pointer from the left wing with 11 seconds left in overtime gave ULM the lead for good at 65-64.
There were 10 ties and 13 lead changes in the game, and the largest lead for either team was only five points.
McDaniel's 3-pointer from the left wing gave ULM its largest lead at 12-7 with 14:52 left in the first half. Georgia Southern took an 18-16 lead on Tookie Brown's steal and layup with 7:38 remaining in the opening half. ULM (10-12, 4-7 Sun Belt) closed out the half on a 6-2 run and a 3-pointer from Jordon Harris out of the left corner with 1:38 to play sent ULM to the locker room with a 29-25 halftime advantage.
Munnings, who scored 14 first-half points, became the 37th player in ULM history to join the 1,000-point club with his 3-pointer from the left baseline with 17:40 left in the first half. The Warhawks limited Georgia Southern to 10-of-34 shooting (29 percent) from the field in the opening half and outrebounded the Eagles, 24-18, in the first 20 minutes.
Georgia Southern (16-9, 7-5) opened the second half with a 9-2 spurt and took a 34-31 lead on Jake Allsmiller's 3-pointer from the top of the circle with 16:34 on the clock. ULM responded with a 10-3 run and moved out to a 41-37 lead as McDaniel hit 2-of-3 free-throw attempts with 13:51 left. The Eagles outscored ULM, 10-1, over the next 5:28 and built their largest lead at 47-42 on Ike Smith's two free throws with 8:23 remaining in the second half. There were three ties and four lead changes over the last eight minutes of regulation. Michael Ertel drove from the left corner to the middle of the lane for a layup to tie the score at 58 with 11 seconds left. Brown missed a deep 3-pointer from the right wing as time expired in regulation.
A reverse layup by Munnings gave the Warhawks a 62-59 lead with 3:05 to play in overtime. Georgia Southern scored five-straight points and regained the lead at 64-62 on Brown's two free throws and Smith's 3-pointer from the left baseline with 2:00 remaining. McDaniel buried a 3-pointer from the left wing to put ULM ahead to stay at 65-64 with 11 seconds to play. McDaniel converted 1-of-2 free throws with :01 left, and the Eagles failed to get a desperation shot off before time expired.
It marked ULM's first victory in Statesboro since Feb. 7, 2015 – also won by the Warhawks in overtime, 71-68.
Munnings recorded his second double-double of the season and 13th of his career, finishing with a game-high 26 points to go along with a career-best 20 rebounds. He hit 9-of-17 field-goal attempts, including 5-of-9 3-pointers, and produced three steals.
McDaniel fell one rebound short of a double-double, tallying 23 points and nine boards. He connected on 6-of-11 shots from 3-point range.
Georgia Southern got 15 points each from Smith and Allsmiller while Mike Hughes contributed 14. After going 0-for-5 from 3 in the first half, Allsmiller made 4-of-7 3-pointers in the second half.
Brown, who entered the game as the Sun Belt's fourth-leading scorer at 19.0 points per game, went 2-of-11 from the field, including 0-of-5 from behind the 3-point arc, and finished with just seven points. He had scored in double figures in 12 consecutive games.
SMITH EARNS NATIONAL, SUN BELT & LSWA PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS –
ULM senior guard Daishon Smith, who averaged 33.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game while leading the Warhawks to a home sweep over Little Rock (97-84) and Arkansas State (85-75) to open Sun Belt Conference play, was named National Mid-Major Player of the Week by the Lou Henson Award and College Sports Madness.
In addition, Smith was selected Player of the Week by the Louisiana Sports Writer's Association for his performances against Little Rock and A-State.
The 6-foot-1 transfer from Wichita State shot 66 percent (21-of-32) from the field, including 70 percent (14-of-20) from 3-point range, and 91 percent (10-of-11) from the free-throw line.
Smith scored a career-high 42 points in ULM's 97-84 victory over Little Rock Thursday in the Sun Belt opener for both teams. His 42 points are tied for the 11th-highest single-game total in NCAA Division I this season and tied for the eighth-highest single-game total in ULM history.
Smith hit 14-of-19 field-goal attempts against the Trojans, including 10-of-12 3-pointers. His 10 3-pointers set the school single-game record (previous: 9 by Larry Carr vs. UT Arlington, 1994) and fell just one shy of the Sun Belt record for a league game (Lamar's Keith Veney: 11 made vs. Little Rock, Feb. 11, 1993). In addition, Smith's 10 3s are tied for the fourth-best single-game total in NCAA Division I this season.
He scored 30 second-half points against Little Rock, hitting 10-of-11 shots from the floor including 8-of-9 from 3-point range.
Smith netted a game-high 24 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the floor, including 4-of-8 from beyond the 3-point arc, in ULM's 85-75 win over Arkansas State Saturday. He went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line and recorded three rebounds, four assists and two steals.
The Jacksonville, Florida, native also was chosen Sun Belt Player of the Week after averaging 26.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.6 steals per game while leading ULM to a 4-1 record in games played since Dec. 18. Smith hit 42-of-67 field-goal attempts (63 percent), including 20-of-35 3-pointers (57 percent), and 26-of-30 free-throw attempts (87 percent). He led the Warhawks in scoring in four of those five games, including four 20-point efforts.
Smith finished with a game-high 22 points at LSU, hitting 7-of-12 field-goal attempts including 2-of-5 3s, and matched his season-high with three steals. He turned in a solid all-around performance against Coppin State with 19 points, a career-high six rebounds, five assists and three steals. Smith connected on 8-of-10 shots from the field, including 3-of-4 3-pointers, en route to a game-high 23 points against Nicholls State.
DIALED IN FROM 3-POINT RANGE –
Three-point field goals have accounted for 38 percent of ULM's scoring (136 3-pointers made; 408 of 1,068 points) in 2018-19. The Warhawks have attempted at least 20 3-pointers in 10 of their first 14 games.
In 2017-18, ULM set a school single-season record with 288 3-pointers made (previous record: 287 made, 2006-07).
ULM TOUGH TO BEAT WHEN SHOOTING 50 PERCENT OR BETTER FROM THE FIELD –
ULM is 14-1 in its last 15 games when shooting 50 percent or better from the field, with its only loss coming in the 2017-18 regular-season finale against Arkansas State (.509). The Warhawks are a perfect 5-0 when hitting 50 percent or better from the floor in 2018-19, with wins over Millsaps (.516), Northwestern State (.509), Nicholls State (season-best .559), Coppin State (.500) and Little Rock (.556).
WARHAWKS REMAIN UNBEATEN IN FANT-EWING COLISEUM –
ULM is a perfect 7-0 at home this season, averaging 85.3 points per game while shooting 48 percent (192-of-400) from the field including 43 percent (77-of-181) from behind the 3-point arc. In addition, the Warhawks have limited their opponents to 66.7 points per game while shooting at a 43-percent clip (171-of-401) from the floor, including 36 percent (53-of-149) on 3-pointers. ULM also has a turnover margin of +6.6 per game at home.
The Warhawks have consistently gotten off to a quick start at home, outscoring their opponents by 80 points in the first half, 280-200. In its seven home games, ULM has trailed for 12:18 out of a possible 280 minutes.
RICHARD REACHES COACHING MILESTONES –
With an 80-63 victory over Coppin State on Dec. 21, Keith Richard reached two coaching milestones by recording his 100th win at ULM and his 250th career win.
2018-19 ULM STARTING LINEUPS –
Different Starting Combinations (5):
Ertel, Smith, Williams, Munnings, Washington: 8 (7-1)
Ertel, Smith, Williams, Munnings, T. White: 2 (1-1)
Ertel, Harris, Williams, Munnings, T. White: 2 (0-2)
Ertel, Smith, Harris, Munnings, Washington: 1 (1-0)
Ertel, Harris, Williams, Munnings, Washington: 1 (0-1)
2018-19 WARHAWK STATISTICAL TRENDS –
Games played in Fant-Ewing Coliseum: 7-0
Games played on the road: 2-5
Games played in November: 3-3
Games played in December: 4-2
Games played in January: 2-0
When leading at halftime: 8-1
When trailing at halftime: 1-4
When tied at halftime: 0-0
When shooting .500 or better from the field: 5-0
When shooting less than .500 from the field: 4-5
When opponent shoots .500 or better from the field: 2-2
When opponent shoots less than .500 from the floor: 7-3
When outrebounding opponent: 4-0
When outrebounded by opponent: 4-5
When rebounding totals are equal: 1-0
When hitting more free throws than opponent: 8-3
When hitting fewer free throws than opponent: 0-0
When hitting the same number of free throws as opponent: 1-2
When committing fewer turnovers than opponent: 8-1
When opponent commits fewer turnovers: 1-3
When turnover totals are equal: 0-1
When ULM scores 50-59 points: 0-2
When ULM scores 60-69 points: 0-2
When ULM scores 70-79 points: 3-1
When ULM scores 80-89 points: 3-0
When ULM scores 90-99 points: 3-0
When opponent scores 50-59 points: 3-0
When opponent scores 60-69 points: 4-1
When opponent scores 70-79 points: 1-1
When opponent scores 80-89 points: 1-3
When opponent scores 90-99 points: 0-0
Games decided by five points or less: 1-0
Games decided by 6-10 points: 2-2
Games decided by 11-19 points: 3-1
Games decided by 20 points or more: 3-2
Last five games: 4-1
Last 10 games: 7-3
Largest deficit overcome to win: 6 (6-0 vs. Little Rock, Jan. 3)
Largest lead surrendered in a loss: 10 (29-19 at Tennessee Tech, Nov. 23)
