MONROE, La. – Jalen Bolden and Tyreese Watson both scored above 20 points and Makai Willis and Coltie Young both reached double figures as the ULM men's basketball team (7-20, 3-11 Sun Belt Conference) erased a 10-point deficit in the second half and came back to defeat Southern Miss (10-17, 5-9) 81-74 on Saturday (Feb. 15) afternoon at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
 
The Warhawks utilized a key 17-2 scoring run in the second half to retake the lead and scored 18 points from Southern Miss turnovers to salvage the season series versus the Golden Eagles.
 
"We started getting some key defensive stops," said ULM men's basketball coach Keith Richard. "We started playing true team defense and took away their layups. Jalen [Bolden| got a few steals and the next thing you know we got out in transition. The defensive end in the last 15 minutes and not allowing them to drive the basket was the difference in the game."
 
Bolden, who was one point shy from his career-high, shot 10-for-18 from the floor and contributed seven rebounds, four assists and three steals. Watson recorded a new career-high and led the team with eight assists. Willis was one board shy of a double-double while Young led the Warhawks with four steals to go along with a pair of 3-point buckets.
 
Denjay Harris also finished with 24 points for the Golden Eagles. Neftali Alvarez had 19 while Christian Watson registered 11 points.
 
The Warhawks outrebounded the Golden Eagles by six and generated eight second chance points. The Golden Eagles led for nearly 20 minutes of game time and led by double figures in the second half. The game featured 10 ties and four lead changes.
 
The Warhawks opened the game with back-to-back strong finishes in the post by Willis, setting the tone early. ULM maintained its momentum and took a 10-4 lead before Southern Miss answered with an 8-0 run. The Golden Eagles surged ahead, taking a 12-10 lead with 14:45 remaining in the first half.
 
ULM and Southern Miss went back and forth, trading baskets throughout the first 15 minutes of play. With 5:15 remaining in the half, the Warhawks went on a 7-0 run that included six straight points from Bolden to even the game score at 31. The Golden Eagles closed the half strong, taking a 45-39 lead after a three-pointer at the buzzer from Jett Montgomery. Bolden led ULM with 13 points on 5-for-8 shooting, as the Warhawks finished the first half hitting 50% from the field.
 
The Golden Eagles opened the second half strong, extending their lead to 51-41 behind two quick baskets from Harris. The Warhawks responded with an electrifying 17-2 run, surging ahead 62-57 with 8:57 remaining. Bolden led the charge, scoring nine points in the first 12 minutes of the half. Southern Miss quickly answered, knocking down back-to-back baskets to tie the game at 62 with 7:56 left to play. ULM quickly responded with a 6-0 run led by two straight baskets by Willis to extend the Warhawks' lead to six. A pair of free throws by Watson increased the ULM lead to 68-62 with just over six minutes remaining.
 
After Southern Miss trimmed the ULM lead to two points, Watson nailed a clutch 3-pointer with under five minutes left to keep the Warhawks ahead by two possessions. Watson handed out an assist to Bolden cutting through the lane for a layup and a foul that maintained a four-point lead for ULM. AD Diedhiou corralled the offensive rebound on the missed free throw that led to Willis beating the shot clock for a huge basket to pull ULM ahead 75-69. Southern Miss answered with five-straight points to close the gap to one. Watson connected on a pair of free throws followed by a ULM defensive stop to keep the Warhawks ahead with less than one minute left. Watson again was fouled and calmly converted two more free throws and ULM led 79-74 with 45 seconds on the clock. ULM once again prevented a score from the Golden Eagles and ULM drained two more free throws before the final horn to secure a seven-point win and snap a three-game losing streak.
 
The ULM men's basketball team is set to begin its final road trip of the regular season on Wednesday (Feb. 19) at Texas State with action beginning at 7:30 p.m.