Russell Harrison jumper at Georgia State 2022
Luke Richard/ULM Athletics
70
La.-Monroe ULM 13-16,5-12 Sun Belt
82
Winner Georgia St. GSU 14-10,8-5 Sun Belt
La.-Monroe ULM
13-16,5-12 Sun Belt
70
Final
82
Georgia St. GSU
14-10,8-5 Sun Belt
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
La.-Monroe ULM 35 35 70
Georgia St. GSU 36 46 82

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Slow Second-Half Start Dooms ULM in Loss at Georgia State, 82-70

ATLANTA – Justin Roberts and Corey Allen scored 15 points each to lead Georgia State to an 82-70 victory over ULM Wednesday night to complete a Sun Belt Conference regular-season sweep over the Warhawks while extending its current winning streak to six-straight games. The Panthers have won eight of their last nine games overall.
 
Georgia State (14-10, 8-5 Sun Belt) buried 12 3-pointers – its highest single-game total in conference play this season. Six different players made at least one 3 for the Panthers.
 
"They're a good team; one of the better teams in our league," ULM head coach Keith Richard said. "Georgia State was the preseason favorite to win the Sun Belt Conference, and now, they're gaining momentum down the stretch. They've got a lot of weapons."
 
There were six lead changes and eight ties in the first half as the teams were never separated by more than a six-point margin.
 
The Panthers jumped out to a 6-2 lead, but ULM (13-16, 5-12) answered with a 9-2 run to take an 11-8 advantage on back-to-back baskets by Thomas Howell. Georgia State countered with an 8-2 spurt and grabbed a 16-13 lead on Ja'Heim Hudson's layup with 13:52 on the clock. Russell Harrison connected on a step-back 3 from the right wing to spark an 8-3 run as the Warhawks moved out to a 21-19 lead on Koreem Ozier's layup, off a feed from Nika Metskhvarishvili, with 11:28 left. Georgia State put together a 9-3 spurt and opened up a six-point advantage at 34-28 on Roberts' 3-pointer from the left baseline with 3:23 remaining. ULM outscored the Panthers, 7-2, over the final 2:59 to cut its deficit to 36-35 at the intermission.
 
Georgia State scored seven of the first nine points in the second half and took a 43-37 lead on Allen's jumper in the lane off a ULM turnover. The Panthers reeled off seven-straight points to build a 10-point lead at 57-47 on Allen's fast-break layup off another Warhawk turnover with 12:10 remaining in the game. ULM pulled to within 57-50 on Ozier's trey with 12:02 to play, but the Warhawks failed to close the gap any further. Georgia State led by as many as 16 points over the final 8:33.
 
The Panthers made 18-of-35 field-goal attempts (51 percent) in the second half, including 7-of-14 from 3-point range. ULM shot 57 percent (13-of-23) from the floor over the final 20 minutes, including 2-of-4 3s.
 
"Our team played really hard in the first half and played really well at times," Richard said. "It was a one-point game at the half, but our start to the second half wasn't good. Those first eight minutes were costly. We really needed the ball to go through the nets, so Georgia State would have to play against a set defense. We struggled to score and they were flying down the floor off our misses that resulted some easy transition layups. It's hard to catch them in this building when they have a double-digit lead.
 
"We really struggled defensively in the second half. Georgia State shot 50 percent from the 3-point line in the second half, hitting 7-of-14 3s. Now, they become extra tough to guard because when they're making 3s, it really opens up the floor for their rebounding. They got eight offensive rebounds in the second half because our guys were trying to get out and defend the 3-point line. We ended up scoring better as the half went along, but so did they."
 
Georgia State outrebounded ULM, 43-29, including 14 offensive boards. The Warhawks struggled from the free-throw line, hitting just 10-of-18 attempts (56 percent).
 
Roberts, who connected on 5-of-7 shots from the field including 3-of-4 3s, scored 10 of his 15 points in the second half. Allen hit 6-of-12 field-goal attempts, including 3-of-7 treys, and added five assists.
 
Georgia State also got 14 points from Eliel Nsoseme and 11 from Collin Moore.
 
Four ULM players scored in double figures, led by Andre Jones who finished with 14 points. It marked Jones' seventh consecutive game as the team's leading scorer.
 
Harrison recorded his fifth double-double of the season and ninth of his career, finishing with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Howell, who hit 6-of-10 shots from the floor, contributed 12 points while Ozier chipped in with 10.
 
"We're still a team that people in our league have to think about when they play us," Richard said. "We're still not where we need to be either, but we have another opportunity this Friday (at Georgia Southern)."
 
ULM closes out the Sun Belt regular-season schedule at Georgia Southern on Friday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT. The Sun Belt Conference Championship is scheduled for March 3-7 in Pensacola, Florida.

 
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