Michael Ertel 3-pointer vs. Texas A&M 2019
Brendan Maloney
57
La.-Monroe ULM 2-1,0-0 Sun Belt
63
Winner Texas A&M TA&M 2-0,0-0 SEC
La.-Monroe ULM
2-1,0-0 Sun Belt
57
Final
63
Texas A&M TA&M
2-0,0-0 SEC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
La.-Monroe ULM 30 27 57
Texas A&M TA&M 22 41 63

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Ertel Scores 25, but ULM Falls at Texas A&M, 63-57

Ertel Scores 25, but ULM Falls at Texas A&M, 63-57
 
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Jay Jay Chandler and Andre Gordon combined to score 31 points, including 12 each in the second half, as Texas A&M rallied from a 10-point deficit for a 63-57 non-conference victory over ULM Monday (Nov. 11) night in Reed Arena.
 
There were eight lead changes and five ties in the game.
 
A left-handed layup by Savion Flagg sparked an early 9-0 run as Texas A&M jumped out to an 11-4 lead. ULM (2-1) answered by scoring nine-straight points of its own, with JD Williams accounting for seven points during the spurt and his 3-pointer from the right corner gave the visitors a 13-11 lead with 10:45 left in the first half. The Warhawks outscored the Aggies, 9-2, over the last 4:31 and took an eight-point lead into the locker room at 30-22 as Michael Ertel buried a deep 3-pointer from the top of the circle in the closing seconds of the half.
 
Youry White's dunk, off a nifty feed from Ertel, gave ULM its largest lead at 36-26 with 17:08 remaining in the second half. Chandler hit back-to-back 3s from the right wing and added two free throws as the Aggies cut their deficit to 36-34 with 15:18 on the clock. Ertel connected on three consecutive 3-point attempts – two from the left wing and another from the top of the circle – as the Warhawks pushed the lead to seven at 45-38 with 12:28 left in the game.
 
Quenton Jackson's 3 from the left corner fueled a 14-0 run as Texas A&M turned a seven-point deficit into a seven-point lead at 52-45 as Gordon drained a 3-pointer from the top of the circle with 5:15 to play in the second half. ULM went scoreless for 7:36 during that stretch.
 
The Warhawks got a conventional three-point play from Ertel and Williams finished a fast break with a tough drive to the basket as ULM closed the gap to 52-50 with 4:21 left. Texas A&M (2-1) quickly extended its lead back to seven on a jumper from Gordon just inside the top of the circle and Jackson completed a three-point play.
 
"We felt like we had a chance to win," ULM head coach Keith Richard said. "To beat an SEC team on their homecourt, you're going to have to play well, and we played well for a lot of the game but not enough of it.
 
"In the second half, I thought we needed to hit some 3s to walk out of here with a win. There was a stretch there in the second half where they started hitting some 3s and we missed some really good looks. We needed to hit those 3s to keep our lead, but we weren't able to do it. It's a tough loss, but I thought we took a step forward with our team tonight."
 
Chandler, who made 5-of-8 field-goal attempts including 2-of-3 3-pointers, led three Aggies into double figures with 17 points. Gordon, who connected on 6-of-10 shots from the floor including 2-of-2 from 3-point range, added 14 points while Jackson contributed 12.
 
The Aggies also got a lift from Josh Nebo, who came off the bench in the second half to provide seven points, four rebounds and three blocks in 18 minutes of action.
 
Texas A&M shot 43 percent (23-of-54) from the field for the game, but hit 52 percent (13-of-25) in the second half, including 5-of-9 3-pointers. The Aggies outscored ULM from the free-throw line, 12-3.
 
"For much of the night, it was a game played at the rim," Richard said. "We had seven blocked shots and Dadou (Traore) had six of them. We were doing everything we could do in the paint. We did our best to try and stop them from getting in there. Any time we slipped up and didn't collapse in there, then they'd score a layup. Texas A&M only attempted three 3s in the first half, and in the second half, when we started to collapse inside, they'd kick the ball out for open 3s. They got some shots from the 3-point line, and they made a few. We had to take some chances defensively and decide what we wanted to take away. That's a really good game for us to learn from, especially on the defensive end of the floor."
 
Ertel led all scorers with 25 points – with 17 coming in the second half – to go along with a career-high nine rebounds. He connected on 9-of-17 shots from the floor, including 6-of-13 from beyond the 3-point arc. Williams finished with 15 points and a career-best six assists for the Warhawks.
 
"JD didn't shoot the ball well from the 3-point line, but he and Mike really played well," Richard said. "For long stretches, they were all we had offensively. Mike made some 3s, but we didn't quite make enough 3s tonight to steal this win."
 
ULM outrebounded Texas A&M, 35-33. Dadou Traore came off the bench to record six of the Warhawks' seven blocked shots.
 
Texas A&M converted ULM's 20 turnovers into 21 points.
 
"We committed 12 turnovers in the first half and eight in the second half," Richard said. "We're not going to beat good teams with that many turnovers, especially when we don't have the offensive firepower like we had last year. We've got to be tighter with the basketball. We've got a lot of new guys out there, and we've got guys playing different positions than they did a year ago."
 
ULM completes its two-game road swing through the SEC on Thursday, Nov. 14 at Mississippi State, with tipoff set for 6 p.m. on the SEC Network.
 
 
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