MONROE – A second half surge from Arkansas State resulted in a 94-67 loss for the ULM basketball team in head coach Keith Richard's final game at Fant-Ewing Coliseum Friday night.
 
Jalen Bolden hit the game's first basket for both teams before the Red Wolves (22-9, 13-5) hit a three-pointer to take control. Tyreese Watson hit two jumpers to give the Warhawks (7-24, 3-15) back the lead with a 6-5 score.
 
"He [Watson] played really good for us tonight," Richard said. "He got a little fatigued throughout the game but kept playing hard the rest of the way."
 
Arkansas State regained the advantage with two layups. Trailing 13-8, ULM made it a one-possession game with a Micah Caster three with 12:54 left in the half. At the 12:04 mark, Jalen Bolden went down with an injury and left for the remainder of the contest.
 
"We lost Jalen Bolden to injury, and we can't afford those," Richard said. "We were down to the bare minimum the rest of the way."
 
The two teams traded buckets before Watson made a pullup jumper to tie the game 15-15. The Red Wolves took back the lead with a basket, but Watson and Willis produced a pair of shots to take the lead. ASU answered with five straight points to make the score 22-19 with 6:54 left in the half.
 
Coltie Young responded with five points of his own, including a shot from beyond the arc, to retake control. With a 26-25 Warhawk lead, the Red Wolves produced a 14-0 run, which included three deep shots within the final four minutes. The two teams traded layups to end the half with a 13-point Arkansas State lead.
 
Young hit a three-point shot to put the Warhawks within ten with a 43-33 score a minute into the second half. With the score at 50-38, Caster put ULM within ten points with a three. For the next two minutes of the game, the Warhawks outscored ASU 11-1, regaining the lead for the first time since four minutes left in the first half.
 
The Red Wolves quickly responded with seven unanswered points to take the lead. After a basket by Willis, two more three-pointers from ASU made it a 10-point game. With 10:12 left in the contest, a 15-4 run gave Arkansas State firm control of the game with a 79-60 score. The Warhawks never got within ten points the rest of the way and dropped the final regular season matchup 94-67.
 
"Our guys fought hard and had a second half lead, those guys are just really good," Richard said. "They may have four players make all-conference teams at the end of the year."
 
Willis had a double-double in the game, his fifth of the season. Watson led the way in scoring with 19 points. Caster hit three shots from deep and totaled 11 points.
 
The Warhawks will enter the Sun Belt Conference Tournament in Pensacola, Fla. as the 14^th seed. Their first matchup will be on Tuesday, March 4 at 7:30 CT.