Jalen Hodge reverse layup vs ULL 2020
Ben Massey
60
La.-Monroe ULM 6-13,2-8 Sun Belt
81
Winner Louisiana LA 8-13,3-7 Sun Belt
La.-Monroe ULM
6-13,2-8 Sun Belt
60
Final
81
Louisiana LA
8-13,3-7 Sun Belt
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
La.-Monroe ULM 27 33 60
Louisiana LA 36 45 81

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Scoring Droughts Costly as ULM Falls to Ragin’ Cajuns, 81-60

LAFAYETTE, La. – Jalen Johnson scored a career-high 27 points to lead Louisiana Lafayette to an 81-60 victory over rival ULM Saturday as the Ragin' Cajuns snapped a four-game losing streak in Sun Belt Conference play.
 
Johnson hit 7-of-10 field-goal attempts, including 3-of-6 3-pointers, and 10-of-12 free-throw attempts. The transfer from St. Louis U. also added seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and blocked three shots.
 
There were three ties and two lead changes in the first half. ULM missed its first six field-goal attempts as the Ragin' Cajuns jumped out to a 5-0 lead. A transition layup from JD Williams sparked an 11-3 run as the Warhawks took an 11-8 lead on Tyree White's 3-pointer from the left wing with 13:42 left. Unfortunately, Williams twisted his left ankle after scoring ULM's first basket and left the game at the 16:41 mark.
 
Johnson scored 11 points during a 14-3 spurt as the Ragin' Cajuns moved out to a 22-14 advantage on his 3-pointer from the left wing with 8:51 remaining in the opening half. Michael Ertel buried back-to-back 3s as ULM answered with an 11-4 run of its own to cut its deficit to 26-25 with 5:21 on the clock. The Ragin' Cajuns (8-13, 3-7 Sun Belt) outscored the Warhawks, 10-2, down the stretch and took a 36-27 lead into the locker room, thanks to Mason Aucoin's 3-pointer from the right corner as time expired in the first half.
 
ULM (6-13, 2-8) went scoreless for 3:11 and made just one of its last 11 field-goal attempts to close out the first half.
 
The Warhawks got a three-point play from Jalen Hodge and a layup from Langston Powell to open the second half and pulled to within four points at 36-32 with 18:34 left. P.J. Hardy's 3-pointer from the right wing keyed a 13-4 run as the Ragin' Cajuns built a 49-36 lead on Cedric Russell's pull-up trey from the right wing with 15:27 to play. ULM managed to pull to within eight at 49-41 on Tyree White's slam dunk on a nifty pass from Ertel with 13:48 remaining, but the Warhawks failed to close the margin any further. The Ragin' Cajuns regained control, thanks to a 10-0 spurt, and built a 61-43 advantage on Tirus Smith's three-point play with 10:55 to go. ULM went scoreless for 3:37 during that stretch. Johnson's third 3-pointer gave ULL its largest lead at 81-59 with 1:57 on the clock.
 
"First, they played well, really well … maybe their best game of the year," ULM head coach Keith Richard. "Second, losing JD (Williams) on that injury changed the whole complexion of the game. Our team already struggles to score at times, in particular on the road, so losing him really hurt in the meat of the game.
 
"You look at our offensive numbers and they're not very good: 3-of-16 from the 3-point line, 11-of-21 from the free-throw line and overall shoot 38 percent from the field. Even with open shots or good plays at the basket, we just couldn't make them. We really needed to keep pace there offensively to stay in the game.
 
"We caught them there late in the first half, then went on a drought again the last 3 or 4 minutes. We caught them again at the beginning of the second half but went on another drought. Gosh, we needed to play better offensively to stay in this game and give ourselves a chance, but it was a difficult task without JD."
 
The Ragin' Cajuns also got 11 points from Smith and 10 from Russell. ULL outscored ULM, 26-11, from the free-throw line.
 
Four Warhawks scored in double figures, led by Tyree White who recorded his first career double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Ertel finished with 13 points, Hodge 12 and Powell 10.
 
ULM will attempt to end its six-game Sun Belt losing skid when it travels to Texas State on Thursday, Jan. 30 (7 p.m. tipoff). The Warhawks conclude their three-game road trip at UT Arlington on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 2 p.m. 
 
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