Koreem Ozier dribble vs Northwestern State 2020
92
Winner La.-Monroe ULM 1-1,0-0 Sun Belt
83
Northwestern St. NW 0-5,0-0 Southland
Winner
La.-Monroe ULM
1-1,0-0 Sun Belt
92
Final
83
Northwestern St. NW
0-5,0-0 Southland
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 F
La.-Monroe ULM 38 38 16 92
Northwestern St. NW 39 37 7 83

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

ULM Dominates Overtime with 9-0 Run; Earns Road Win at NSU, 92-83

NATCHITOCHES, La. – Koreem Ozier scored 10 second-half points and Luke Phillips accounted for eight of ULM's 16 points in overtime to help lift the Warhawks to a 92-83 victory at Northwestern State on Sunday, Dec. 6. ULM closed out the overtime period with a 9-0 run.
 
There were 14 lead changes and 13 ties in a tightly contested game as neither team managed to build a double-digit advantage.
 
"The first win of a season with a bunch of new guys is always one of the best ones because after all of the hard work, they finally get a little taste of why they do it," ULM head coach Keith Richard said. "It's so difficult to win on the road, especially in a close game and on top of that an overtime game. Boy, it was nice to see the guys celebrate in the locker room like that."
 
Northwestern State (0-5) led by as many as seven points (20-13 and 23-16) in the first seven minutes of the game. ULM (1-1) outscored the Demons, 10-3, over the next 3:20 and tied the game at 26-all on D'Marcus Hall's 3-pointer with 9:04 left in the first half. NSU took a 39-38 lead into the intermission.
 
Thomas Howell, who earned his first collegiate start in front of his hometown fans in Natchitoches, Louisiana, netted 10 first-half points to pace the Warhawks.
 
A layup by Elijah Gonzales sparked a 7-2 run by ULM and a tip-in by Josh Nicholas tied the score at 51-all with 10:54 to play in the second half. Ozier scored six points and recorded three assists during a 12-4 spurt as the Warhawks built a 72-65 lead on Marco Morency's dunk with 1:33 remaining in the second half. ULM still enjoyed a seven-point lead at 76-69 after Gonzales converted two free throws with :34 left on the clock.
 
Jairus Roberson pulled NSU back to within 76-72 with :24 left by hitting three-straight free throws after being fouled by Ozier on a 3-point attempt from the right wing. After Ozier missed two free throws for the Warhawks, Roberson completed a four-point play, burying a 3 from the left wing and hitting the free throw after Russell Harrison committed his fifth foul on the closeout, to tie the game at 76-all with 17.6 seconds left in regulation. ULM had a chance to win the game in regulation, but Morency's contested layup bounced off the rim at the buzzer.
 
"I'm still learning about this team, and I hope they learned some things this afternoon," Richard said. "That's what non-conference games are for. This afternoon, they learned we don't want to foul 3-pointer shooters with a seven-point lead with less than a minute to go. I don't know if our guys touched the shooters or not, but I hammered it home in the timeout: don't foul, don't foul, don't stop the clock. Sure enough, we did and it almost cost us the game. Those situations can be learning lessons, and it's a lot better when you learn things in wins."
 
The Demons opened the scoring in overtime, as Brian White's pull-up jumper from the right side of the lane gave NSU a 78-76 lead – its first lead since 61-60. There were four lead changes and two ties in the first 2:31 of the extra period.
 
ULM outscored NSU, 9-0, over the next 2:29 to secure the 92-83 road win. The Warhawks took the lead for good at 85-83 on Luke Phillips' layup, off an assist from Ozier, with 2:10 on the clock. Morency made a jumper from the free-throw line, Phillips followed with a 3-pointer from the right corner – his second 3 in overtime – and Ozier hit a pair of free throws to complete the scoring.
 
The Warhawks shot 42 percent from the field (27-of-64) for the game but made 5-of-7 shots (71 percent) from the floor in overtime. ULM outscored the Demons, 30-14, from the free-throw line and finished even on the glass, with the teams finishing with 47 rebounds each. The Warhawks scored 22 points off NSU's 14 turnovers.
 
"We did a decent job rebounding this afternoon," Richard said. "We still have some work to do there, but our guys have acknowledged that we're going to have to five-man rebound. We got some five-man rebounds late in this game as well as in overtime. That's something we're going to have to work on all year in particular without Chris Efretuei in the lineup (missed Sunday's game with an ankle injury) because he takes up a lot of space."
 
Four ULM players scored in double figures, led by Ozier, who finished with 16 points, nine rebounds and five assists. The Warhawks also got 13 points from Morency, 12 from Howell and 11 each from Harrison and Phillips.
 
"We put the ball in Koreem Ozier's hands late in the game and he responded," Richard. "He's an experienced guard, and he showed the value of it there late in the game.
 
"Thomas Howell came to his hometown and started the game as a freshman. He played well this afternoon in front of his family and friends, and that's pretty neat. Thomas is kind of a cult hero around here, and you certainly sensed that with the crowd's reaction during the introduction of the starting lineups. So, it was special to have his mom, brother, family and friends in one building and see him play well in a ULM win. That's all you could ask for.
 
"I saw Luke Phillips in a preseason practice in junior college two years ago, and today, he looks like a completely different player," Richard continued. "He works harder on his game than anybody that we have on the roster. He spends numerous hours in the gym, and I'm happy that he played a big role in this really good win."
 
Roberson made a career-high six 3-pointers en route to a game-high 22 points to pace the Demons. Kendal Coleman came off the NSU bench to record a double-double with 18 points and 15 rebounds while LaTerrance Reed contributed 10 points.
 
ULM opens its 2020-21 home schedule against Lamar (0-4) on Wednesday, Dec. 9, with tipoff set for 6 p.m. General admission tickets are priced at $10.
 
POSTGAME NOTES & QUOTES:
Elijah Gonzales came off the bench to contribute nine points, four assists and a steal in nearly 25 minutes. . . . Richard said: "Elijah Gonzales played well. He brought us a little spark off the bench when we needed it in the second half."
 
DeMarcus Hall contributed nine points and seven rebounds off the bench while playing nearly 18 minutes. . . . Richard said: "I'm so happy for DeMarcus Hall. He didn't play much the other night (played four minutes in the season opener at Louisiana Tech), but he played a big role this afternoon with Russell Harrison in foul trouble. But that's how it's gonna be sometimes for these freshmen. Some games, they're going to play more minutes and have an opportunity to be more impactful. In other games, their minutes might be limited, but that's all part of the growing process."
 
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