Warhawks Give Eighth-Ranked Florida an Overtime Scare
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – A three-pointer from sophomore Nick Coppola late in regulation sent the ULM men’s basketball program to overtime with eighth-ranked Florida, but the Gators were able to hold off the upset minded Warhawks, 61-56 at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center on Friday.
Coppola’s three-pointer came with 19 seconds left which helped UL Monroe (2-1) erase an eight-point deficit with just under two minutes remaining. The Warhawks were able to force a Florida (2-1) turnover with 1.5 seconds left, but a half-court attempt from junior Justin Roberson was no good to send the game into overtime.
The Gators were up 53-51 in overtime when senior Tylor Ongwae converted an old-fashion three-point play to put ULM back on top, 54-53 with 3:00 left. Florida came back with a 5-0 spurt to go up 58-54, but the Warhawks stayed alive with a lay-in from Ongwae to cut it to 58-56 with 19 seconds left. ULM was unable to come any closer.
Ongwae led the Warhawks with 19 points and eight rebounds in the game. The Warhawks led by as many as 12 in the first half and took a two-point lead into the intermission.
Coppola finished with 11 points including a trio of three-pointers. Junior Majok Deng grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.
The Warhawks got off to a fast start and netted the first two baskets of the game after a big dunk from Ongwae and a lay-in by Williams. ULM led 10-6 when the Gators answered with a 6-0 run to take their first lead of the game, 12-10 at the 12:42 mark.
ULM responded with a huge 13-0 run which included three pointers from Coppola, Deng and junior Mack Foster to go up 23-12 with 8:03 left. A three-pointer by junior Jamaal Samuel near the end of the shot clock extended ULM’s lead to 29-17 at the 3:58 mark.
The Gators ended the half on a 10-0 run, including a three-pointer from Chris Chiozza at the buzzer.
The Warhawks came out strong in the second half and extended their lead to 35-29 after Ongwae found Williams for a lay-up with 15:56 left. Florida came back with a 15-0 run to take the lead, 44-35 with 8:40 remaining.
ULM trailed 51-43 at the 1:59 mark when Coppola hit a pair of free throws and a three-pointer sandwiched around a long-range shot from Samuel.
Michael Frazier led the Gators with 21 points and eight rebounds. Chiozza registered 11 points and four steals, and Jacob Kurtz pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds.
The contest was part of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament but not part of the main bracket. The Warhawks will take on Coastal Carolina in the first of their bracketed tournament games on Wednesday, Nov. 26 in Chattanooga, Tenn., at 1:30 p.m. (CT).
NOTES
- The 61 points-against was the lowest ULM has ever let up against a ranked opponent in program history
- ULM committed just 10 turnovers in the game, a season-low. The Warhawks have posted a positive turnover margin in all three games this season as they forced 14 from Florida
- Ongwae, the reigning Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week, College Sports Madness SBC Player of the Week and Warhawk of the Week winner, tallied his sixth consecutive double-figure scoring game dating back to last season. It was also his 27th of his career. Ongwae has converted on eight field goals in all three games this year
- Coppola played a career-high 45 minutes and etched his 11th career double-figure scoring game and the second this season. It marked the 10th time in his career that he played at least 40 minutes
- The contest marked the first-ever meeting between the two programs
- ULM’s 2-1 record after three games is the program’s best start since 2004-05 when it began 4-1
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Auburn Surges By Ragin’ Cajuns
AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn Tigers hit 11 threes and outscored the UL Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns 60-42 in the second half on their way to a 105-80 win on Friday night at Auburn Arena.
UL Lafayette (1-2) put five players in double figures, led by Brian Williams’ 18 points and seven rebounds. But the Cajuns were just 3-of-15 from three-point range and surrendered 20 turnovers to the Tigers (2-1), who were led by KT Harrell’s 24 points.
“Auburn played extremely well, especially in the second half,” UL Lafayette head coach Bob Marlin said. “They shot it well from three and that was the difference in the game.”
Jay Wright, Johnathan Stove and Bryce Washington all had 11 points off the bench, with Wright’s coming all in the first half. Xavian Rimmer also finished with 10 points for the Cajuns.
That output helped lead ULL to a 42-18 advantage in bench points, but the Tigers had five players in double figures of their own, including three – Harrell, Tahj Shamsid-Deen (21), Cinmeon Bowers (20) – to put in at least 20 points.
Auburn did most of their damage in the second half, hitting 69 percent from the floor after being held to just 43.2 percent in the opening period, and hitting seven of their 11 threes for the game.
Wright provided a spark for the Cajuns off the bench in the first half, entering after the midway point of the period and pumping in 11 points, including four of five foul shots. Williams added 10 of his own, and late 6-0 spurt cut a 10-point Auburn lead to as little as four before Bowers banked in a three as the halftime buzzer sounded.
“We were in a good spot at halftime,” Marlin said. “We didn’t play great, but we were in a good spot.”
Auburn led by as much as 10 on two occasions in the opening half, taking advantage of the offensive glass with nine offensive rebounds and a dozen second-chance points, including nine in the half’s final eight minutes.
The teams traded blows before ULL took its first lead of the game at 17-16 on a three from Stove, one of just two triples in the half for the Cajuns. But a pair of foul shots on the next possession from KC Ross-Miller put Auburn back in front and sparked a 13-3 Tiger run that pushed the lead to 29-19 with just under 10 minutes to play.
Wright then subbed in and immediately made a difference, scoring five points in his first two minutes on the floor. A pull-up jumper from him cut the lead to 35-30 before consecutive Auburn scores pushed the lead back to 40-30. But the Cajuns scored eight of the next 10 points, including a layup from Stove to trim the lead to 42-38 before Bowers’ shot provided the halftime margin.
UL Lafayette stayed within striking distance early in the second half before a 14-3 Tiger run in a span of just over four minutes pushed their lead to 18 points with just over 10 minutes to play in the game.
Rimmer gave ULL some life with buckets on consecutive possessions, including a three with just under seven minutes left in the game; however, the Tigers again answered with a quick 7-2 burst of their own, capped by a layup from Bowers that peaked the lead at 27 with 5:43 remaining.
Washington added four of his five buckets for the game in the final five minutes of play, accounting for eight of ULL’s final 12 points.
The Ragin’ Cajuns will now travel to Las Vegas, Nev., for the neutral-site portion of the MGM Grand Main Event. ULL will take on Milwaukee on Monday before facing off with Oral Roberts on Tuesday. Both games will be held at the MGM Grand Hotel.
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Georgia State Falls at Colorado State, 80-70
FORT COLLINS, Colo.-Despite a combined 45 points from Ryan Harrow and R.J. Hunter, a late Colorado State run led the Rams to an 80-70 victory over Georgia State on Friday night at Moby Arena.
Leading 62-60 with 5:25 to play, the Rams used a 14-0 run following a technical foul on Harrow to take a 76-60 lead with 1:42 to play, holding the Panthers scoreless for more than three minutes.
Harrow led all scorers with 26 points, shooting 11-of-22 from the floor while dishing out five assists.
Hunter added 19 points, knocking down three of the Panthers eight 3-pointers, swiping five steals. The junior moved into 11th on Georgia State’s all-time scoring list with 1,195 points and is now just 320 points from the school record of 1,515.
Georgia State fell to 1-2 with the loss while Colorado State improved to 2-0.
“I didn’t necessarily agree with the technical foul, but it is what it is,” head coach Ron Hunter said. “You have to play better when you are on the road and you have to stay composed. We were not able to do that tonight.
“We have to give Colorado State credit. They got down early but stayed composed and slowly worked their way back into the game and took advantage of the situation during the final five minutes.”
The last five minutes of the game was the reverse of the first half where the Panthers had controlled the game.
After Colorado State hit a 3-pointer to open the game, Georgia State responded with a 7-0 run to take an early 7-3 lead.
Leading 10-9, the Panthers went on a 10-0 run that included a pair of Hunter 3-pointers to take a 20-9 lead with 10:46 to play and lead by as many as 12 with 7:58 to play in the opening period.
Georgia State led 34-29 at halftime as Hunter and Harrow combined for 27 points. The Panthers held the Rams to just 31 percent shooting the first half.
Trailing 40-33, Colorado State responded with an 8-0 run to take a 41-40 lead with 15:54 to play.
It was one of seven second half lead changes. The game was also tied seven times during the second half.
Colorado State finished with five players in double figures, including Stanton Kidd’s double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds. Daniel Berjarano added 16 points, while J.J. Avila scored 13 points, dished out eight assists and pulled down six rebounds.
Redshirt-junior Kevin Ware added nine points for the Panthers while junior T.J. Shipes came off the bench to score six points and pull down six rebounds.
The Rams finished the game 21-of-27 from the free throw line, while the Panthers managed to go just 8-of-17.
With five steals, Hunter moved into seventh on the all-time list with 124.
Georgia State will continue its 5-game, 10-day road trip on Monday facing Chicago State in the CBE Hall of Fame Classic on the campus of Oakland University at 4:30 p.m. ET. It will be the Panthers first of three games in Rochester, Mich., over a three day stretch.
www.GeorgiaStateSports.com
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Troy Falls to Georgia 80-62 in First Road Contest
ATHENS, Georgia – The Troy men’s basketball team fell at Georgia, 82-60, in Stegeman Coliseum on Friday night in its first road game of the season. Freshman Wesley Person scored a game-high 20 points, his second straight game with 20-plus points, while Chris Bilbo tallied a game-high nine rebounds to pace the Trojans.
Georgia (2-1), who tied for second in the SEC last year, shot 50.8 percent from the field and had four players in double-figures. Marcus Thornton and Nemanja Djurisic both totaled 17 points to lead the Bulldogs, while Charles Mann and Kenny Gaines added 14 and 12 points, respectively. On the glass, Mann also grabbed eight boards.
Troy (1-2) shot 36.5 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from beyond the arc and finished 16-of-23 from the charity stripe. Person shot 50 percent (3-for-6) from 3-point range and sunk 7-of-9 free throw attempts; he opened he collegiate career with 18 straight makes from the line before his fist miss.
Bilbo and Musa Abdul-Aleem joined Person in double figures as the pair both netted 10 points, with all of their 20 combined points coming after the break.
The Trojans won the tip and Person hit a pair of free throws, but buckets on back-to-back possessions by the Bulldogs gave them an early lead that they would never relinquish.
The start of the game was competitive as Troy and Georgia traded baskets over the first few minutes. Jaro Marovek drained a 3-pointer with 12:01 to play in half to pull the Trojans within nine, 25-16, but they wouldn’t score again until a jumper by Kelton Ford with 5:25 to play in the half.
Person drained a 3-pointer with just over a minute to play and Mann added a lay up with 35 seconds remaining in the half to send the teams into the half with Georgia holding a 38-23 advantage.
Coming out of the break, Ford sunk a fast break layup. The Trojans appeared to create some momentum as they forced two straight Georgia turnovers, however, Troy couldn’t find a way to make Georgia pay for the mistakes.
Free throws by Person and back-to-back buckets from Person and Abdual-Aleem sparked the Trojans on a 6-0 to close the gap to 61-48 with 9:10 to play in the game. However, the Bulldogs went on a 10-3 run over the next three minutes to pull away.
The Trojans continue their road trip as they travel to Hattiesburg, Miss., to face Southern Miss on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
For more information on Troy, visit TroyTrojans.com. As always, fans can also find the Trojans on Twitter at @TroyMensHoops, Facebook, Instagram at @TroyHoops and on YouTube by searching for Troy Athletics.