Jalen Hodge pass vs. Arkansas State 2019
Nicolas Galindo/The News-Star
62
Winner Arkansas St. ASU 9-3,2-0 Sun Belt
59
La.-Monroe ULM 4-6,0-2 Sun Belt
Winner
Arkansas St. ASU
9-3,2-0 Sun Belt
62
Final
59
La.-Monroe ULM
4-6,0-2 Sun Belt
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Arkansas St. ASU 23 39 62
La.-Monroe ULM 29 30 59

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

ULM Fades Late in Loss to Arkansas State, 62-59

ULM Fades Late in Loss to Arkansas State, 62-59
 
By Paul Letlow, ULMWarhawks.com Online Columnist
 
MONROE, La. – ULM faded down the stretch on Saturday while dropping a 62-59 Sun Belt Conference decision to Arkansas State at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
 
The Warhawks (4-6, 0-2) led late in the second half but couldn't hang on while losing their fourth straight.
 
"I wish it was more free flowing for these players," ULM coach Keith Richard said. "But that's called conference play. They're all tough and physical and hard. We'll keep working at it until we can win some of these close ones."
 
Tyree White scored a season-high 14 points to lead the Warhawks, who shot 47 percent in the contest. Michael Ertel added 13 points and Jalen Hodge had 10.
 
"It was (White's) best offensive night," Richard said. "But really, he did about what he can do. They were doing a good job on Mike. He had to work really, really hard and they had a bigger defender on him. We needed some of our other players to strike off the dribble, cut and get a basket. It didn't happen."
 
Melo Eggleston led Arkansas State (9-3, 2-0) with 14 points. Jerry Johnson and Marquis Eaton scored 13 apiece.
 
ULM led 29-23 at halftime while shooting 55 percent from the floor. The first half featured six ties before the Warhawks surged ahead by eight points during a 7-0 run. Ertel and Tyree White scored seven points each to lead ULM.
 
In the first half, Arkansas State shot 39.1 percent (9 of-23) made just one 3-pointer in five attempts and was outrebounded 14-8 by ULM.
 
"Nobody could break away from each other throughout the whole game" Richard said. "I thought we had a chance to get it out there in the first half and maybe separate ourselves, but we had 10 turnovers at the half again which hurt us from having a bigger lead."
  
After the break, the Red Wolves made 8-of-10 shots from the floor to cut the deficit to 48-47 halfway through the second half.
 
Eggleston's layup with 6:59 remaining helped Arkansas State regain the lead at 52-51 for the first time since the 8:11 mark of the first half.
 
"Our defense wasn't near as good in the second half as it was in the first half," Richard said. "It was excellent in the first half. When you play in these conference games sometimes, it comes down to a four- or five-point swing at some moment. We had a four- or five-point lead, two turnovers, and it swung on us."
 
Down the stretch, ULM endured a scoring drought of more than four minutes as Arkansas State gradually increased its edge. Eaton's jumper with 1:59 remaining put the Red Wolves up 59-53, its largest lead of the game at that point.
  
"We had a little bit of a scoring drought again and all of a sudden, they became a shot-making team a little bit," Richard said. "Mid-range shots. Not that many plays, but enough for us not to win."
  
Up next: ULM visits Butler on Dec. 28 for its last non-conference game. Tipoff is 3 p.m.
 
Tail feathers: Jalen Hodge pulled down a career high in rebounds with six. His previous career high was five last time out against Little Rock. … ULM kept its starting lineup intact after four-straight games of changes. 
 
 
Print Friendly Version