MONROE, La. – The ULM men's basketball team (0-1) fell in a five-point contest to Central Michigan (1-0), in the November iteration of the MAC-SBC Challenge. Three Warhawks scored in double digits in the season opener, with one finding double-digit rebounds.
The contest opened with a three-pointer from
Dayjaun Anderson, triples becoming the name of the game. Anderson finished hitting four-of-six from beyond the arc, scoring 19 points to pair with five rebounds and two assists. After getting to a 5-0 start early, the Warhawks held the Chippewas to a three-minute scoring drought.
ULM's defense was defined by
Lance Carr's six defensive rebounds (10 total),
Ziyade Ndancky's team-leading two blocks and
Phillip Tillman's five steals. Ndancky crossed double digits with 14 points as well. While three-point shooting put the Warhawks ahead early (45% in the first half), the Chippewas continued to battle back after each scoring run.
At the nine-minute mark in the first half, Central Michigan found the lead for the first time in the contest, going on a 13-3 scoring run. The Warhawks continued the battle from behind, as a steal and dunk by Tillman tied up the game at 20. For over two minutes, the defenses showed out, holding scoring droughts as the clock wound down. After the game remained tied up at 30, Anderson capped off a nine-point run with another triple to end the half with ULM ahead, 43-32.
Anderson opened the second half the way he started, with a triple to extend the lead to 14 for the Warhawks. But just a few minutes into the half, the Chippewas got comfortable shooting from beyond the arc, adding nine unanswered points to the tally as the deficit closed to five. After landing just three triples in the first half, CMU shot 56% from three with nine in the second half.
While
Quaran McPherson continued to break away for points, another run had the Chippewas within one. McPherson landed a triple to remain ahead, hitting four in the game for 24 points to lead ULM. With five minutes remaining, another three-pointer allowed for CMU to tie it up. ULM held strong before another tie game as time ran down, shutting down Central Michigan with multiple scoring runs. A dunk settled the winning team with 42 seconds remaining, the Chippewas ahead by three. Free throws added to the tally as ULM fell in the 83-78 score.
The Warhawks will remain at home to face the Champion Christian Tigers on Wednesday (Nov. 4). Tipoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. in b1Bank Fant Coliseum.
