MONROE, La. -- Coltie Young and AD Diedhiou both netted career-high scoring totals and Tyreese Watson stuffed the stat sheet with a double-double in points and assists to lead the ULM men's basketball team to an 89-73 home victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Wednesday (Dec. 11) night inside Fant-Ewing Coliseum in Monroe, La.

Young, who made his first start as a Warhawk, scored a career-high 28 points and matched a career-high seven 3-point field goals to lead the way for ULM (4-7) while adding three rebounds, two assists and one steal. Diedhiou finished 8-for-8 from the field and scored 16 points to go along with four rebounds and one blocked shot. Watson facilitated the offense with a career-best 11 assists and racked up 16 points and a team-high five steals.

After trailing by as many as eight points in the first half, ULM raced back to take a two-point lead at the break. The second half featured four lead changes and two tie scores. ULM closed the game on a 14-2 scoring run to put away the Golden Lions and snap a three-game losing streak.

"We had to win that game about three different times," said head coach Keith Richard. "I am really happy how we competed tonight. We had to work hard for that win. When we lost the lead, we had to dig in late. Those are good moments for your basketball team when you have to dig deep to win a game. I am happy for our guys."

The Warhawks made 31 shots from the floor on 57 attempts and drained 10 3-point buckets. ULM outrebounded UAPB 37-27 on the glass and generated 19 second-chance points from eight offensive boards. The Golden Lions poured in 46 points in the paint and led with 17 fastbreak points.

Other notable ULM leaders included Makai Willis, who tracked down a team-high 12 rebounds and finished with seven points and four assists. Jacob Wilson cashed in a pair of clutch 3-point buckets down the stretch in the second half while Devon Hancock added another. Jalen Bolden recorded two of ULM's four blocks on the evening.

The Golden Lions had four players reach double figures with Caleb Jones and Dante Sawyer both leading the way with 14 points apiece. Kyle Brown tallied 12 points and Raphael Dumon fired 11 points. Jones made a game-high six steals for UAPB.

UAPB jumped out to a 5-0 lead within the opening two minutes of action. Diedhiou scored ULM's first points of the night with a layup assisted by Watson. After a UAPB bucket, Bolden swung a pass to Young in transition for the Warhawks' first 3-pointer of the night that narrowed UAPB's lead to two. A Young second-chance bucket closed the gap to one at the 15:53 mark of the first half.
 
Young slipped a pass to Diedhiou for a slam dunk to give ULM its first lead of the night. On the next ULM possession, Young cashed in his second 3-pointer of the night to pull the Warhawks ahead, 12-8, following a 12-3 scoring run. The Golden Lions regained a four-point lead with a 9-1 scoring run. A Jerry Ngopot jumper and a pair of free throws by Watson evened the score at 17-17.
 
Willis collected his own miss and fought through contact for a three-point play, putting ULM back in front. UAPB surged back ahead after scoring seven-straight points. Willis jammed home a missed shot that ended the Golden Lions' scoring run. The Warhawks were held scoreless for over three minutes as UAPB stretched its lead to 30-22, the largest of the first half. Hancock knocked down ULM's third triple of the first half to pull ULM within five with just under five minutes in the first half.
 
Young started heating up beyond the arc in the final three minutes of the first and rimmed home a pair of triples within 30 seconds to bring the Warhawks within one point. After a pair of Watson free throws, Young connected with his fifth made 3-pointer of the first half and ULM held a 39-37 advantage after the first half.
 
Bolden drew a foul on ULM's first possession of the second half and swished a pair of free throws, which increased the Warhawks' lead to four. Another Young 3-pointer and three consecutive layups by Diedhiou pushed ULM's lead to double digits at 56-43.
 
The Golden Lions rallied back and took the lead after a 16-2 scoring run. The Warhawks answered with a Wilson triple and ULM jumped back in front, 61-59. The lead swung back and forth during the middle stages of the second half. Wilson's second bucket from long distance brought ULM back in front, 68-66. ULM pushed the lead back to four after two Ngopot free throws. Watson led Diedhiou for an easy layup for his 16^th point of the night.  Young went 3-for-3 at the free throw line and increased ULM's lead to seven points with 3:36 left in regulation.

Ngopot made a turnaround jumper and Young bumped the Warhawks' lead to 12 points with a stepback 3-pointer with just over two minutes left. Off a steal by Bolden, Young slammed home a dunk for his career-high 28th point for the exclamation point to seal the ULM win over the Golden Lions.

The Warhawks will hit the road to complete their home-and-home season series with UT Arlington on Saturday (Dec. 14) afternoon at 2 p.m. in Texas.