Trey Boston dribble vs Auburn 2021
Jacob Taylor/AU Athletics
65
La.-Monroe ULM 0-2,0-0 Sun Belt
93
Winner Auburn AUB 2-0,0-0 SEC
La.-Monroe ULM
0-2,0-0 Sun Belt
65
Final
93
Auburn AUB
2-0,0-0 SEC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
La.-Monroe ULM 39 26 65
Auburn AUB 37 56 93

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

ULM Plays Solid First Half at No. 22 Auburn, But Fades in Second Half

AUBURN, Ala. – Freshman Jabari Smith recorded his first career double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds to lead No. 22 Auburn to a 93-65 victory over ULM Friday, Nov. 12 before a capacity crowd of 9,121 in Auburn Arena.
 
There were four lead changes and two ties in a tightly contested first half.
 
Auburn (2-0) used an early 9-0 run to take a 13-5 lead on Wendell Green Jr.'s layup with 14:30 remaining in the opening half. The Warhawks answered with an 8-1 run and pulled to within 14-13 on a fast-break layup by Thomas Howell with 11:00 left. Trailing 17-13, Trey Boston's layup sparked a 13-1 spurt as ULM built an eight-point lead on Russell Harrison's 3-pointer from the left wing with 6:00 to go. K.D. Johnson converted four-straight free throws as the Tigers cut their deficit to 26-22 with 5:04 on the clock. The Warhawks regained their eight-point advantage at 32-24 after Andre Jones drove the left side of the lane for a layup with 3:36 to play. Auburn went 5:36 between field goals during that stretch while hitting just 1-of-11 shots from the field. Smith outscored ULM, 8-2, as the Tigers rallied to within 34-32 on his 3 from the top of the circle with 2:17 remaining. The Warhawks got two free throws from Jones and a traditional three-point play from Luke Phillips to push the lead back to 39-32 with 1:11 left. Green hit 5-of-6 free-throw attempts in the final minute for Auburn as ULM took a 39-37 lead into the locker room at the intermission.
 
ULM (0-2) limited Auburn to 9-of-25 field-goal shooting (36 percent) in the first half and outrebounded the Tigers, 19-18. The Warhawks led for nearly 10-and-a-half minutes in the opening half.
 
"For the first half, I thought we made tremendous strides from Tuesday night's season opener against LSU," ULM head coach Keith Richard said. "Tonight, we led the 22nd-ranked team in the country at halftime on their home floor because we only had four turnovers and gave up only three offensive rebounds. It really was a tremendous effort, and it gives me hope for this team. In the first half, we played like the team that I had always envisioned that we maybe could become."
 
Boston opened the second half with a steal and a layup as ULM took a 41-37 lead. A rebound basket by Smith fueled a 7-0 run as Auburn grabbed a 44-41 lead on Johnson's 3-pointer out of the left corner off a Warhawk turnover with 16:42 left in the game. ULM managed to pull to within two points twice early in the second half – the last time at 47-45 with 14:57 on the clock. Auburn answered by reeling off 10-straight points, and Chris Moore's traditional three-point play gave the Tigers a 55-45 advantage with 13:25 to go. The Tigers broke the game open with an 11-1 run midway through the second half as Johnson's 3-pointer extended their lead to 72-52 with 7:08 remaining. During that decisive stretch, ULM went three-and-a-half minutes without a field goal and committed five turnovers while Auburn connected on seven consecutive field-goal attempts. Chandler Leopard's 3-pointer with 40 seconds left accounted for the final margin, 93-65.
 
Auburn outscored the Warhawks, 56-26, in the second half. The Tigers made 20-of-35 shots from the floor (57 percent), including 6-of-13 3s (46 percent), and parlayed ULM's 12 second-half turnovers into 14 points. Auburn also outrebounded the Warhawks, 21-11, over the final 20 minutes.
 
"In the second half, Auburn flexed their muscle, as we turned the ball over 12 times and gave up seven offensive rebounds," Richard said. "That's how the game turned on us. So, we're not a 40-minute team yet, but we'll take this first half and build off it.
 
"Give Auburn some credit for the way their players responded in the second half. They got a little nervous about losing in the first half and you could tell that. I'm sure Bruce Pearl got on them at halftime and told them to become more aggressive on offense and get their noses pointed toward the rim. His team got the message and they really attacked the rim. They're bigger, taller and stronger than us, and we just couldn't hold on in the second half."
 
 
Smith hit 7-of-12 field-goal attempts, including 3-of-5 from behind the 3-point arc, and finished with a game-high 23 points. He added two assists, two blocks and four steals in 29 minutes played.
 
Overall, Auburn placed four scorers in double figures, with Johnson netting 18 points, Moore 16 and Green 15. Moore scored 14 of his career-high 16 points during the Tigers' second-half surge.
 
Boston paced the Warhawks with 16 points, hitting 7-of-9 shots from the field including 1-of-2 3s. ULM also got nine points each from Howell, who went a perfect 4-for-4 from the floor, and Elijah Gonzales. Nika Metskhvarishvili contributed eight points, seven rebounds and three blocks off the bench.
 
"Trey Boston played very well for only his second Division I game, but he still has a lot to learn," Richard said. "He hasn't played a full, 40-minute game yet to know how that feels. You saw he's got some talent and we've known that all along. That's why we signed him. We've got to get him playing harder for longer periods of time, and he needs to do a better job of taking care of the ball. But he's got some offensive talent.
 
"Nika is another guy who played in just his second Division I game tonight, but like Trey, he showed signs of being an impact player on both ends of the floor. Nika still has a long way to go, but he and Trey should only get better as we move along in the schedule."
 
ULM returns to action for its home opener against Champion Christian (1-3) next Tuesday, Nov. 16, with tipoff set for 6:31 p.m. The non-conference game will be streamed live on ESPN+ and broadcast by flagship radio station KLIP 105.3 FM.
 
"We'll stay focused on three things this week," Richard said. "We're really going to harp on execution and limiting the careless turnovers … for 40 minutes, not just the first or second half. We'll continue to emphasize defensive intensity. We were a lot better defensively at times tonight, but we still drifted off toward the end of the game. Third, we're going to focus on blocking out and rebounding. When you open the season against opponents like LSU and Auburn, you really find out about your weaknesses because you'll get exposed quickly by those deep, talented teams. If we can limit our turnovers and do a better job keeping our opponents off the offensive boards – if we can consistently do those two things – we're going to be a very competitive team."
 
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