Russell Harrison jumper vs Arkansas State 2021
Victoria Pederson
55
Arkansas St. ASU 3-6,0-2 Sun Belt
62
Winner La.-Monroe ULM 4-5,2-0 Sun Belt
Arkansas St. ASU
3-6,0-2 Sun Belt
55
Final
62
La.-Monroe ULM
4-5,2-0 Sun Belt
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Arkansas St. ASU 32 23 55
La.-Monroe ULM 35 27 62

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

ULM Completes Sun Belt Series Sweep Against Arkansas State, 62-55

MONROE, La. – ULM outscored Arkansas State, 12-5, over the closing 4 1/2 minutes en route to a 62-55 victory in Fant-Ewing Coliseum Saturday afternoon as the Warhawks completed the series sweep on the opening weekend of Sun Belt Conference play. The Warhawks converted eight-straight free throws in the final 1:20 to ice the game.
 
It also marked ULM's third consecutive win over Arkansas State, matching the Warhawks' longest streak (1984-85) in series history.
 
"It definitely was a grind-it-out win," ULM head coach Keith Richard said. "It's difficult to beat any Division I team twice in one season, and we're trying to do it against a conference opponent on back-to-back days. These Saturday games aren't going to be pretty at times because fatigue does become a factor, regardless of how deep you go into your bench. It's tough physically and mentally. There were times in the second half where the play wasn't pretty.
 
"The question becomes who can make the big plays at critical moments when neither team has been scoring because the opponent is experiencing the same things. Who can get the big stop when your team needs one? Who can grab the big rebound? Who can make free throws down the stretch? We led for the first 30 minutes of the game, then fall behind midway through the second half. That's our team's first taste of this kind of game, and the way they responded was a good sign for us. They competed against the opponent. They competed against physical and mental fatigue. They competed against me (laughing). But, they found a way to win."
 
Josh Nicholas sparked an early 11-0 run with his 3-pointer from the right baseline and Russell Harrison's four-point play gave ULM (4-5, 2-0 Sun Belt) its largest lead at 15-4 with 13:59 left in the first half. The Warhawks hit eight of their first 10 shots from the field, including all three from 3-point range, and enjoyed a 20-11 advantage with 12:19 to play in the opening half.
 
A-State (3-6, 0-2) responded with a 12-3 run of its own and tied the score at 23-all on a layup from Caleb Fields with 6:48 remaining in the first half. The Red Wolves connected on 6-of-8 field-goal attempts during that stretch while ULM experienced a scoring drought that lasted 4:13.
 
Johnnie Williams' 3-pointer from the right wing in transition fueled a 9-2 spurt as the Warhawks built a seven-point lead at 32-25 on 3 from Koreem Ozier with 3:53 left. A-State closed out the opening half with a 7-3 run to cut its halftime deficit to 35-32.
 
Playing in back-to-back games, fatigue became a factor in the second half as neither team scored for nearly the first four minutes. Trailing 42-34 with 14:33 left, Keyon Wesley scored five-straight points to key an 11-0 run for the Red Wolves. Antwon Jackson made the second of two free-throw attempts to give A-State its first lead of the game at 43-42 with 10:14 on the clock. Jackson added two more free throws as the Red Wolves took a 45-42 lead with 9:17 remaining.
 
ULM went exactly six minutes without a field goal until Thomas Howell's layup, off an assist from Luke Phillips, pulled the Warhawks within 45-44 with 9:02 to play. Markise Davis connected on a 3-pointer from the left corner to give A-State its biggest lead at 48-44 with 7:11 left.
 
With the shot clock about to expire, Nicholas buried a 3-pointer from the top of the circle as ULM cut its deficit to 48-47 with 6:32 remaining. Harrison, who reentered the ULM lineup with four fouls, promptly knocked down a 3 from straightaway as the Warhawks regained the lead at 50-48 with 5:02 to go. Fields hit a pair of free throws as A-State tied the score at 50-all with 4:31 on the clock. ULM took the lead for good at 52-50 as Harrison drove down the right side of the lane for a layup with 4:12 left.
 
Phillips made four-straight free throws and Elijah Gonzales contributed four more points from the charity stripe in the final 1:20 as the Warhawks sealed the series sweep.
 
"Late in the second half, we finally started getting some defensive rebounds," Richard said. "We went to a spread offense, with Chris Efretuei as the one ball-screener. So, we were able to pull all the defenders out on the perimeter. We finally saw some holes in the defense and picked up some fouls going to the basket. We had been searching for some offense in the second half. I didn't know what to call for them, but we finally found some offense when we spread the floor. We made enough free throws down the stretch to push us through to the win.
 
"There's no way around it, you've got to make free throws to win close games. Arkansas State put itself in a position to steal a road win, but our guys didn't let it happen. We needed to right the ship offensively and we did late in the second half. Both Luke Phillips and Elijah Gonzales made key throws in the final minute and a half."
 
ULM hit 19-of-47 field-goal attempts (.404), including 9-of-22 3-pointers (.409), and 15-of-18 free-throw attempts (.833). The Warhawks limited A-State to 29-percent field-goal shooting (15-of-52), including just 3-of-18 (17 percent) from 3-point range. The Red Wolves went 6 1/2 minutes between made field goals late in the second half.
 
A-State's guard tandem of Fields and Marquis Eaton combined to shoot 5-of-22 from the field, including only 2-of-9 from behind the 3-point arc.
 
"Give Erie Olonade, Koreem Ozier and Elijah Gonzales a lot of credit for their defensive effort this weekend," Richard said. "(Caleb) Fields and (Marquis) Eaton are difficult to guard. Our guys guarded them play after play after play for the last two nights. Fields and Easton are both downhill guards and they're good at it. That was a tough assignment for our guys, especially on consecutive days, but for the most part, our guys did a really good job defensively."
 
A-State outrebounded ULM, 39-28, and held an 11-2 edge in second-chance points.
 
Three ULM players scored in double figures, led by Harrison and Ozier, who netted 13 points each. Nicholas added 11 points.
 
Harrison, who hit 5-of-8 field-goal attempts including 2-of-4 3-pointers, finished with four rebounds, four assists and two steals in just 25 minutes played.
 
"Russell Harrison made some critical plays down the stretch," Richard said. "He made a huge 3 right after we put him back in the game with four fouls, then two possessions later, he drove down the right side of the lane for a layup. Russell really helped us during that late 4 1/2-minute stretch before fouling out.
 
"Russell is still learning (to play at this level). He played well in the first half but battled foul trouble most of the game. Russell is learning that teams are going to be aggressive when he's playing defense because they want to get him in foul trouble and out of our lineup. He's got to learn to play defense without fouling."
 
Ozier, who connected on 5-of-11 shots from the floor including 3-of-6 3s, also collected a team-high eight rebounds.
 
"Koreem Ozier played good again," Richard said. "He wasn't perfect, but he had another solid all-around game. His mother and brothers were in town this weekend, and she previously had never seen him play live in college. So, his family saw two wins, and Koreem played a big part in both of these wins."
 
Fields scored a game-high 16 points to pace the Red Wolves, with 10 of those coming in the first half. A-State also got 10 points off the bench from Jackson.
 
Richard believes ULM's approach to non-conference scheduling gave his team an edge heading into the first weekend of Sun Belt Conference action.
 
"There's no doubt that our non-conference schedule helped prepare us to play like opponents," he said. "We didn't play any Power 5s and we didn't play any non-Division I opponents. We played in several close games; we won some and lost some. All of those experiences helped prepare us for the opening weekend of Sun Belt Conference play."
 
ULM plays host to its second consecutive home Sun Belt Conference series next weekend as UT Arlington visits Fant-Ewing Coliseum: Friday, Jan. 8 at 6 p.m. and Saturday, Jan. 9 at 4 p.m.
 
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