MONROE, La. – The ULM men's basketball team (1-4) fell at Fant-Ewing Coliseum to Lamar (2-1) on Monday evening (Nov. 17), in a 79-66 score. The Cardinals got off to a strong start, ULM unable to complete the comeback in the final minutes.
Lamar nailed four triples early, Andrew Holifield of the Cardinals causing trouble in the first few minutes of the game. The Cardinals also picked up 16 points off Warhawk turnovers, proving to be the difference-maker in the 13-point game.
MJ Russell led ULM in scoring, reaching double-digits for the fourth-consecutive game. He tallied 24 points, four rebounds, two blocks and two steals throughout the night. Russell shot 7-of-11 from the field, 3-of-5 from beyond the arc and 7-of-10 from the free throw line.
Lavell Brodnex also made his presence known with a double-figure night, collecting 12 points and seven rebounds. To round out the scoring in double digits, freshman
Przemek Hartman collected 11 points and two rebounds on the night.
Both teams struggled to find scores early, going scoreless for the first ninety seconds of the contest. Lamar's Andrew Holifield broke the drought with a triple, later hitting another in what would become Holifield's strength in this game. Three minutes in, freshman
Przemek Hartman launched a dunk to get the Warhawks on the board after an 8-0 run in favor of the Cardinals.
Holifield continued to bring trouble from beyond the arc, hitting four three-pointers in the first half. But a 6-0 scoring run for ULM had them coming back from the brink, making the score 11-8 with 14:28 left in the half. The Cardinals prevented the lead change, however, going on a 12-2 run. Holifield's fourth triple of the evening brought the deficit to double figures as the Warhawks entered a three-minute scoring drought. Even while ULM fought to chip away at the lead, Lamar found ways to capitalize off turnovers and extend the lead further as the score settled at 40-27 at the half.
To open the second half, ULM went on a tear, shooting 4-of-4 from the field,
Krystian Lewis notching a triple to keep momentum going. Every time the pendulum began to swing in the Warhawk favor, Lamar would match it and maintain the lead. A 6-0 scoring run across 45 seconds for the Cardinals brought the lead back to a comfortable spot. But the tides began to turn for ULM with 10 minutes remaining in the half.
The team found a groove in the paint, forcing turnovers from Lamar and slowly chipping away. After shooting 6-of-7,
Alex Huguet Carrasco nailed a triple to cut the deficit down to single digits. A travel violation for the Cardinals gave possession back to ULM with 6:28 remaining, as the home team looked for a game changer. Carrasco nailed a second three-pointer as the Warhawks went on a 7-0 run, making the advantage just five points for Lamar. The Cardinals entered a four-minute scoring drought, as ULM went on the hunt for the comeback.
A few turnovers and misses on the Warhawk offense had Lamar turning the favor back toward them, going on a 6-0 scoring run to close out the game and secure the 79-66 victory.
The men's basketball team hits the road this weekend, competing in the ETSU MTE, facing Morehead State on November 22 and host ETSU on November 23.
