Michael Ertel layup vs. Texas State 2020
Brendan Maloney
51
La.-Monroe ULM 6-14,2-9 Sun Belt
71
Winner Texas St. TXST 13-9,6-5 Sun Belt
La.-Monroe ULM
6-14,2-9 Sun Belt
51
Final
71
Texas St. TXST
13-9,6-5 Sun Belt
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
La.-Monroe ULM 30 21 51
Texas St. TXST 24 47 71

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

ULM Scores 21 Second-Half Points, Falls at Texas State, 71-51

SAN MARCOS, Texas – Alonzo Sule and Shelby Adams came off the bench to combine for 27 points as Texas State rallied from a six-point halftime deficit for a 71-51 victory over ULM Thursday to complete the regular-season sweep against the Warhawks. The Bobcats outscored ULM, 47-21, after the intermission.
 
ULM scored the first seven points of the game and led throughout the first half. Jalen Hodge's 3-pointer from the top of the circle gave the Warhawks a 13-4 lead with 11:05 left. Texas State responded with a 5-0 run and pulled to within 13-9 on Adams' transition 3-pointer from straightaway. ULM answered with a 6-0 spurt and took its largest lead at 19-9 on Michael Ertel's pull-up jumper from the right side of the lane with 7:42 on the clock. Behind Ertel's 14 first-half points, the Warhawks led 30-24 at the break.
 
ULM limited Texas State to 23-percent field-goal shooting (6-of-26) in the first half, including just 1-of-7 (14 percent) from 3-point range.
 
Trailing 36-30 3 1/2 minutes into the second half, Texas State (13-9, 6-5 Sun Belt) went on an 18-2 run to turn a six-point deficit into a 10-point lead at 48-38 on Adams' 3-point play with 10:39 remaining. ULM (6-14, 2-9) went exactly eight minutes between field goals, but Chris Efretuei scored five-straight points as the Warhawks cut their deficit in half at 48-43 with 9:40 left in the game. The Bobcats put together a 15-4 run to take control of the game, extending their lead to 63-47 on a pair of free throws from Mason Harrell with 2:46 to play.
 
ULM failed to find its offensive rhythm in the second half, hitting just 8-of-24 of its field-goal attempts (33 percent) while going 0-for-8 from behind the 3-point arc.
 
"It was the tail of two halves," ULM head coach Keith Richard said. "We played really well in the first half. We guarded them well; held Texas State to 23 percent from the field, 14 percent from the 3-point line in the first half, but we were only up six points at the half. We need to be up 10, 12, 15 points with that kind of defensive performance.
 
"So, I knew (the lead) wouldn't last, especially with Texas State being the home team. We really needed to score some points in the second half, but we didn't score well at all … only 21 points. Obviously, they imposed their will on us in the second half and had a big (scoring) outburst.
 
"We had a good first half, and Texas State had a great second half. We let it get away from us there in the second half, and this has happened to us throughout the year. We've had second-half leads but just can't hold it physically from a lot of spots on the floor."
 
Texas State, which recorded 15 offensive rebounds, enjoyed a 20-9 advantage in second-chance points.
 
"We had talked about offensive rebounding before the game and emphasized it in practice," Richard said. "If we guarded them well, we knew they were really going to start hitting the offensive boards. Texas State started pressing and that's what they do. Sure enough, it started at the end of the first half. We were guarding them well, forcing them to miss the first shot, but here they came, attacking the offensive glass, and we started fouling. And it really carried on into the second half. We gave up 15 offensive rebounds, and that's way too many to win on the road."
 
Sule led Texas State with 15 points, hitting 4-of-7 field-goal attempts and 7-of-8 from the free-throw line. The Bobcats also got a season-high 12 points from Adams and 10 from Isaih Small.
 
ULM's Langston Powell limited Nijal Pearson, the Sun Belt Conference's leading scorer at 20.1 points per game, to a season-low eight points on 2-of-16 shooting from the field, including 2-of-8 3-pointers. Powell held Pearson without a field goal for 31:04 (Pearson's first basket came on a 3-pointer at the 8:56 mark in the second half).
 
"At times, Langston Powell did really well guarding Nijal Pearson," Richard said. "Langston stayed disciplined against him because Pearson shot fakes a lot. He's a crafty offensive player, so you have to be disciplined with your hustle. Langston did a good job defending him."
 
Ertel scored a game-high 18 points to pace the Warhawks, followed by Tyree White who finished with 15 points and seven rebounds. Josh Nicholas came off the ULM bench to collect a career-high eight rebounds.
 
ULM completes its two-game Sun Belt road swing at UT Arlington on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 2 p.m. The Warhawks are seeking their first road win of the season (0-9) while also attempting to end a seven-game losing streak in league play.
 
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