Michael Ertel jumper vs Butler 2019
Justin Casterline
36
La.-Monroe ULM 4-7,0-2 Sun Belt
67
Winner Butler Butler 12-1,0-0 Big East
La.-Monroe ULM
4-7,0-2 Sun Belt
36
Final
67
Butler Butler
12-1,0-0 Big East
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
La.-Monroe ULM 14 22 36
Butler Butler 33 34 67

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

ULM Throttled by No. 12 Butler, 67-36

INDIANAPOLIS – Derrik Smits came off the bench to score a game-high 16 points to lead No. 12 Butler to a 67-36 victory over ULM Saturday afternoon in Hinkle Fieldhouse, as the Bulldogs extended the nation's longest non-conference home winning streak to 58 games.
 
Butler (12-1) limited ULM to 23-percent field-goal shooting (14 of 60), including 19 percent from 3-point range (3 of 16). It marked ULM's lowest point total since a 61-36 home-court loss to Texas State on Jan. 11, 2014. The Bulldogs held ULM's starting backcourt of Michael Ertel and JD Williams, which came into Saturday's game averaging a combined 32.7 points, to just 10 total points on 4-of-27 shooting, including 1-of-8 from behind the 3-point arc.
 
Sean McDermott scored seven of his team's first nine points as Butler jumped out to a 9-5 lead. ULM pulled to within 9-7 when Ertel drove the left side of the lane for a layup with 14:28 remaining in the first half. The Bulldogs answered with a 9-2 run to take an 18-9 lead on two free throws from Smits with 10:06 to play in the opening half. Butler outscored the Warhawks, 15-5, over the next 10 minutes to build a commanding 33-14 halftime advantage. ULM managed one field goal – a 3-pointer by Josh Nicholas from the left corner – and two free throws over the last 9:10 of the first half.
 
Smits and McDermott (10 points each) combined for 20 first-half points to pace the Bulldogs. ULM hit 5-of-28 field-goal attempts (18 percent) in the first 20 minutes, including just 2-of-11 3-pointers.
 
"Butler was as good as advertised," ULM head coach Keith Richard said. "That's a really physical team on both ends of the floor and at all positions, not just the 4s and 5s. Butler is a physical, tough team. It's hard to drive the ball on them, and it's difficult to score in the post on them. They bump every cut, and they're hard to set screens against.
 
"They also run excellent stuff on offense, and they're very efficient on that end of the floor. They threw the ball inside quite a bit, and we chose not to double down on the post. We wanted to see if your bigger guys could play one-on-one in there, but they're inside guys did a good job on scoring in there.
 
"The game got away from us there in the first half because we struggled so much on the offense end of the floor," Richard continued. "Give all of the credit to Butler. That's a really good basketball team."
 
Butler opened the second half with a 17-6 spurt and opened up a 50-20 lead as Smits finished a fast break with a layup with 10:58 left. The Bulldogs built their largest lead at 67-32 on Henry Baddley's 3-pointer from the top of the circle with 1:14 on the clock.
 
Smits, who hit 5-of-7 shots from the floor and 6-of-7 attempts from the free-throw line, finished with 16 points in 12-plus minutes. Butler also got 10 points each from McDermott and Bryce Nze.
 
The Bulldogs shot 46 percent (27 of 59) from the field, including 50 percent (14 of 28) in the second half. Butler outscored the Warhawks, 34-14, in the paint and converted ULM's 11 turnovers into 16 points.
 
Nicholas, who came off the ULM bench to score a season-high 12 points, connected on 4-of-8 field-goal attempts including 2-of-4 3-pointers.
 
Saturday's game marked a homecoming for Ertel, an Indianapolis native who grew up 12 miles from Hinkle Fieldhouse.
 
"We're here because of Michael Ertel," Richard said. "He was named Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year and third-team all-conference last season. Michael is improving every season, and he'll have a great career at ULM.
 
"I wish we had played better and wish he would have played better, but all in all, it was a great trip. We had a chance to go over to Mike's house last night with our players, which was pretty neat. Sometimes, this is why you schedule these games."
 
ULM (4-7, 0-2) resumes Sun Belt Conference play with a two-game homestand against Troy (Thursday, Jan. 2 at 7 p.m.) and South Alabama (Saturday, Jan. 4 at 2 p.m.).
 
UPCOMING TICKET PROMOTIONS
$5 General Admission
Thursday, Jan. 2 vs. Troy (7 p.m. tipoff)
All general admission tickets are $5 – half off the regular single-game price – for ULM's Jan. 2 Sun Belt Conference game against Troy.
 
Buy One, Get One Free (BOGO)
Saturday, Jan. 4 vs. South Alabama (2 p.m. tipoff)
Purchase a courtside-riser seat ($20), reserved seat ($15) or general admission ($10) ticket and receive a second one of the same value for free to the Jan.  4 Sun Belt Conference game against South Alabama.
 
 
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