Daishon Smith dunk vs. Georgia State 2019
Jeanette Robinson, ULM Photo Services
76
GEORGIA STATE GSU 16-7, 7-3
82
Winner ULM ULM 12-10, 5-5
GEORGIA STATE GSU
16-7, 7-3
76
Final
82
ULM ULM
12-10, 5-5
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
GEORGIA STATE GSU 34 42 76
ULM ULM 40 42 82

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Energized Warhawks Take Down First-Place Georgia State, 82-76

By Paul Letlow, ULMWarhawks.com Online Columnist

MONROE, La. – With a meaningful 82-76 win over first-place Georgia State in the books Wednesday night, the ULM basketball team had one final order of business. 

A happy band of Warhawks headed off the court and high-fived the student section along with fans seated courtside at Fant-Ewing Coliseum. Travis Munnings even climbed over the rail to shake hands in the seats as he got up close and personal with some of the 2,391 in attendance. 

"It felt great to be back home after a two-game road trip," ULM's Daishon Smith said. "We're sorry we had our first loss in front of our fans the last time we were here. It was great the guys came back and supported us even after a bad showing."

The win snapped a three-game losing streak for ULM (12-10, 5-5) and paid back a controversial road loss to the visiting Panthers last month. It wasn't easy, but the Warhawks closed out the game with a 9-3 run over the final two minutes for a statement win.   

"Coming off the loss at their place, coming back from 21 and losing on a bad call showed us we can compete," Smith said. "We were ready to come out here and prove that we were the better team."  

Smith scored 36 points with eight rebounds, seven assists, five 3-pointers and was 11-for-11 from the free-throw line. He was great late too, just when ULM needed him most. 

"He had tremendous energy all game," said ULM coach Keith Richard, whose team is now 10-1 at home. "Obviously, he made some big plays late. … His driving ability was a big story for us. We needed some 2-point goals in this game and I thought he got enough for us."

Georgia State (16-7, 7-3) had just taken a 74-73 lead with 2:04 left in the game on a 3 by Jeff Thomas. The game featured seven times and eight lead changes.  

Smith, who was animated throughout the night, hit back-to-back 3-pointers and was fouled on the second make. His 4-point play pushed ULM ahead 80-74 with 1:07 remaining. 

After a missed layup and Munnings rebound, ULM played keep away until Georgia State fouled Michael Ertel and he hit a pair of free throws for an 82-74 advantage with 29 seconds left. The Panthers managed just one basket, a layup with 22 seconds remaining, while surrendering the lead. 

"We knew it would be a war until the buzzer went off," said JD Williams, whose breakaway dunk off a Tyree White steal with 3:58 left in the game was one of the night's most electric moments. "We had in our mind that we'd fight to the buzzer."

Munnings, Ertel and Williams had 12 points each for the Warhawks. Munnings also had nine boards as ULM outrebounded Georgia State, 37-27. 

ULM led 40-34 at halftime after shooting 48 percent from the field and 46 percent from the 3-point line. Smith led all scorers with 14 points while Williams added 10 in the half. Ertel and Andre Washington grabbed six first-half rebounds each.

Up next: ULM plays host to Georgia Southern Friday night at 7 p.m. The Warhawks lost the first meeting in Statesboro, 79-78, on Jan. 10.  

Tail feathers: Georgia State took a 55-54 lead on a dunk by Malik Benlevi with 11:44 left in the game. Benlevi was called for a technical foul for hanging on the rim, but the call was overturned.  … Student-athletes, representing ULM's 10 women's intercollegiate sports, were honored at halftime to commemorate National Girls & Women in Sports Day. Softball's Victoria Pederson addressed the crowd. … Miss Louisiana Holli Conway was spotted in the crowd along with Miss ULM Monica Whitman, who was recognized on the court early in the contest.
 
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