Andre Jones fall-away jumper vs. UTA 2022
Luke Richard/ULM Athletics
71
UT Arlington UTA 9-14,5-7 Sun Belt
74
Winner La.-Monroe ULM 13-12,5-8 Sun Belt
UT Arlington UTA
9-14,5-7 Sun Belt
71
Final
74
La.-Monroe ULM
13-12,5-8 Sun Belt
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
UT Arlington UTA 38 33 71
La.-Monroe ULM 40 34 74

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Surging Warhawks Win Third Straight Behind 23 Points by Jones

By ULMWarhawks.com Online Columnist Paul Letlow

MONROE, La. – Momentum is building for ULM basketball.

Andre Jones scored 23 points with seven rebounds and six assists as ULM outlasted UT Arlington, 74-71, Thursday night at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.

The surging Warhawks (13-12, 5-8 Sun Belt) won their third-straight game and completed a two-game conference sweep of the Mavericks (9-14, 5-7 Sun Belt) for the first time since the 2015-16 season.

"That was a very hard-fought game by both teams," ULM coach Keith Richard said. "A lot of good offense to be honest with you, and I was just glad we were able to get a stop or two, make some free throws and Elijah Gonzales hit a big three with the shot clock going down. I'm really happy for our players."

Indeed, UTA guard David Azore's driving layup with seven seconds to go cut ULM's lead to 72-71 and had the coach fretting about another missed opportunity at home. Coming out of a UTA timeout, the Mavericks quickly fouled Gonzales, who made two free throws for a 74-71 lead with six seconds left.

The Mavericks were able to launch a final shot but Azore's 3-pointer at the buzzer missed and the Warhawks escaped.

"In the previous four-game homestand, there were two of those games that we lost just like this where we didn't hold them off," Richard said. "Had a little lead but didn't hold them off. That's what I was happy about. At home, we finally held somebody off."

The reigning Sun Belt Player of the Week, Jones made 10-of-15 field goals to lead a ULM offense that shot 52 percent overall.

"When I drive it, I try not to miss anything," Jones said. "If I do miss, I try to make two more layups after I miss one to make up for that miss. It was just going for me today."

Jones also limited his turnovers to two in another outstanding effort.

"He's playing really well," Richard said. "A big help with that is Elijah being on the floor. Elijah's missed four games in conference play. It takes the ball out of Andre's hands where he doesn't have to handle it so much. That's why his turnovers are down."

Back in the starting lineup for the first time since Jan. 27, Gonzales scored a career-high 16 points, including a timely 3-pointer with 2:50 left in the game that gave ULM a 69-63 lead as UTA was making a run. Koreem Ozier added 10.

Azore, who leads the Sun Belt Conference in overall scoring (19.2 ppg.) and league scoring (25.2 ppg.) was a force for the Mavericks with a game-high 29 points. Azore, who didn't play in the first matchup against ULM, was his team's only scorer in double figures.

"I told the team at halftime, even though he's averaging 25 a game, they were 4-5 in those games," Richard said. "It's not like they were 9-0. Him having that many points didn't always mean they won."

The contest only had two lead changes and two ties but neither team was able to pull away.

UTA built its biggest first-half lead at 22-15, but ULM retaliated with an 11-0 run to go ahead 26-22 on a driving layup by Ozier at the 7:37 mark of the first half. The Mavericks went more than four minutes without scoring.

Late in the first half, Luke Phillips provided a great boost in five minutes off the bench with a pair of 3-pointers and a layup that helped ULM extend its lead to 36-29.

Azore's 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer cut the Warhawks lead to 40-38. ULM shot 57 percent in the half with Jones the leading scorer at 14 points.

ULM bounced out of the break with a 10-1 run to take its biggest lead at 50-39 on Ozier's 3-pointer with 16:27 remaining. However, an 0-for-7 cold spell by ULM allowed UTA to close the gap to 57-55 by the 9:22 mark and keep it close down the stretch.

Up next: A three-game homestand continues with Texas State visiting ULM on Saturday, Feb. 12. Tipoff is 2 p.m. The Warhawks play their final regular-season home game against Louisiana Lafayette on Thursday, Feb. 17.

Tail feathers: ULM wore its P-40 uniforms for the home date. … ULM's overtime win at UTA on Jan. 15 broke a seven-game losing streak in the series and gave the Warhawks their first win in Arlington since Feb. 20, 2016. ULM claimed its first two-game conference sweep (home-away) since defeating Troy twice during the 2019-20 season. The win also was the first against the Mavericks in Fant-Ewing Coliseum since Feb. 15, 2018, 84-71. … Richard is 7-14 against UTA as ULM's head coach. … ULM improved to 7-4 at Fant-Ewing this season. … UTA guard Jack Hoiberg is the son of 10-year NBA veteran Fred Hoiberg, the former head coach of the Chicago Bulls and current head coach of the Nebraska men's basketball team. Hoiberg is a graduate transfer from Michigan State.
 
Elijah Gonzales assist vs. UTA 2022

 
 
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