Travis Munnings dribble vs Appalachian State in 2019 Sun Belt Championship first round
Jeanette Robinson, ULM Photo Services
80
APPALACHIAN STATE APP 11-21
89
Winner ULM ULM 17-14
APPALACHIAN STATE APP
11-21
80
Final
89
ULM ULM
17-14
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
APPALACHIAN STATE APP 36 44 80
ULM ULM 42 47 89

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

ULM Races Past App State, 89-80; Earns Trip to New Orleans

MONROE, La. – Travis Munnings recorded his fifth double-double of the season and 18th of his career with 21 points and 12 rebounds to lead No. 7-seed ULM to an 89-80 victory over No.-10 seed Appalachian State Thursday, March 12 in a first-round game of the Sun Belt Championship. Munnings led four Warhawks in double figures as ULM improved to 13-2 in games played in Fant-Ewing Coliseum this season.
 
ULM (17-14) jumped out to a 13-2 lead as Michael Ertel hit a 3-pointer from the left corner with 15:12 to play in the first half. The Warhawks dominated play on both ends of the floor and built their largest lead at 22-8 on Brandon Newman's layup with 9:33 remaining in the opening half. App State (11-21) outscored ULM, 14-9, over the final 4:34 to cut its halftime deficit to six points at 42-36. Justin Forrest sparked the Mountaineer rally, scoring 15 first-half points.
 
Daishon Smith hit three-straight free throws and Munnings buried a 3-pointer from the right wing as ULM pushed its lead back to 11 at 50-39 with 18:08 left in the second half. Ronshad Shabazz connected on a 3 from the left wing to spark a 19-7 run, and App State took its first lead of the game at 58-57 on Hunter Seacat's layup with 13:09 on the clock. There were six lead changes and two ties over a span of 1:40 in the second half. The Warhawks took the lead for good after Tyree White collected an offensive rebound and kicked the ball back out to Smith, who drained a 3-pointer from the top of the circle to give ULM a 69-66 advantage with 10:12 remaining. ULM outscored the Mountaineers, 18-7, over the next 7:39 and matched its largest lead at 14, 87-73, on Ertel's layup with 2:33 remaining in the game.
 
"We had a war against Appalachian State tonight," ULM head coach Keith Richard said, "and really all three games this season went tooth and nail. It's very tough for both teams to stop each other. The offense held the upper hand in all three games this season.
 
"We had a difficult time stopping them, especially Justin Forrest. He got going in the first half. But, they had a hard time stopping us throughout the game. When the game got tight midway through the second half, we made two or three big 3s to get the lead back to double digits, and that really was the separation we needed to close this game out. Both teams had to battle some fatigue late in the game too."
 
The Warhawks shot 50 percent (31-of-62) from the floor, including 57 percent (17-of-30) in the second half, and tallied 19 assists on 31 made field goals. ULM also outrebounded App State, 31-26.
 
Munnings, who hit 7-of-14 shots from the field including 5-of-8 from 3-point range, also recorded four assists, without a turnover, and three steals while playing the entire 40 minutes. Four of his 12 rebounds came off the offensive glass.
 
"Travis Munnings has played his best basketball of the season over the last three weeks," Richard said. "Travis has settled into his role on this team, and he's done a great job on both ends of the floor. He's shooting the ball with confidence, especially from the 3-point line, and he's done a great job on the backboards."
 
ULM also got 16 points each from Ertel, Smith and JD Williams.
 
Ertel scored eight points over the final 4:29, including a pull-up jumper in the lane over Seacat and three layups, to help ice the game.
 
"Michael Ertel was very good down the stretch," Richard said. "Anybody who has watched Mike play the last two years knows he can do those things in one-on-one situations, particularly late in the game when we can spread the floor. We're comfortable putting the ball in his hands in those moments and letting him play a little one-on-one. He's been very good in those situations the past two years."
 
Smith also registered a career-high nine assists.
 
Forrest, who poured in 32 points in App State's 85-84 win over ULM on Feb. 2, matched his career high Tuesday night, hitting 11-of-19 field-goal attempts including three 3-pointers.
 
Adrian Delph went 4-of-7 from 3-point range and finished with 14 points for the Mountaineers while Shabazz and Seacat added 11 points each.
 
With the victory, ULM earns a second-round match up against No. 6-seed Coastal Carolina on Thursday, March 14 at 7:30 p.m. in Lakefront Arena in New Orleans. Coastal Carolina swept the regular-season series against ULM, winning 92-81 in Conway, South Carolina, and 97-91 in Monroe two weeks ago to spoil Senior Day.
 
"I think our guys are looking forward to having another shot at Coastal Carolina," Richard said. "Their lineup presents some difficult match-ups for us. We don't have time for major changes with the quick turnaround, but we need to tweak some things to give ourselves a better chance (at winning the game)."
 
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