UL Monroe Soars Above NSU 80-64; Richard Wins 200th Career Game
NATCHITOCHES – A wire-to-wire victory resulted in an 80-64 final for the UL Monroe men’s basketball program over Northwestern State as Keith Richard won his 200th career game as a head coach on Thursday at Prather Coliseum.
The Warhawks (2-1) dominated the glass as they outrebounded the Demons (0-3) 49-27 in the game. ULM grabbed 23 offensive rebounds compared to NSU’s eight and held a huge advantages of 46-20 in points in the paint and 25-9 in second chance points.
Senior Majok Deng and freshman Travis Munnings both posted double-doubles in the game. Deng finished with a team-high of 19 points and 12 rebounds while Munnings set new career-highs of 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Deng and Munnings were two of five double-figure scorers for the Warhawks. Senior Jamaal Samuel poured in 15 points and seniors Justin Roberson and DeMondre Harvey tallied 11 apiece. Harvey also grabbed nine rebounds while Roberson pulled down seven to go along with his six assists and career-high five steals.
ULM scored the first six points of the game to get up early. Leading 10-4, Roberson found the hot hand with four consecutive baskets to headline a 15-1 run and give the Warhawks a 25-11 advantage with 11:54 remaining.
Still up 26-13, the Demons went on a 6-0 run to get back in it, 28-19, and further cut into the deficit to make it a 33-25 game with 5:20 left. It was the last time ULM’s lead was in single-figures as it quickly answered with a 9-0 run, capped by a lay-up by Munnings, to push its lead back up to 42-25 at the 2:41 mark.
The Warhawks carried a 46-32 lead into the intermission after outrebounding the Demons, 28-15 in the half.
ULM kept it going early in the second half a built a 59-37 lead after an inside bucket by Munnings with 14:17 to go. The team’s biggest lead of the game was 70-42 after a put-back by Harvey with 8:25 remaining.
The Demons, who were picked to finish second in the Southland Conference Preseason Poll, were led by Zeek Woodley’s 24 points. Ishmael Lane pitched in with 14 points and Sabri Thompson had 12 points off the bench.
The Warhawks will have a nine-day layoff before returning to the court on Saturday, Nov. 28 at Houston. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN3 and can also be heard live via radio on KLIP LA 105.3 FM with Nick White on play-by-play. Follow the ULM men’s basketball program on Twitter, @ULM_MBB, for live in-game updates.
NOTES
- ULM remained as one of two teams in the nation to not allow 75 points in a single over the last two seasons (along with Baylor). ULM’s streak is now at 47 games
- The Warhawks defeated the Demons for the third consecutive year and improved to 73-48 all-time against NSU and 29-27 on the road. ULM has played NSU more times than any other school in history
- ULM improved to 355-231 against teams currently in the Southland Conference. The Warhawks were an SLC member from 1982-2006
- The Warhawks are now 2-1 for the third consecutive year. ULM had not previously gotten off to three consecutive 2-1 starts since 1983-84, 84-85, 85-86
- The game was a homecoming for Roberson who is from Natchitoches. He registered his 17th career double-figure scoring game and second this season. Roberson has had at least two steals in every game this year and is averaging 3.7 per outing
- Roberson became the first Warhawks to record five steals in a game since Tylor Ongwae did it on Feb. 15, 2014 against Little Rock
- Deng recorded his 11th consecutive double-figure scoring games dating back to last season and it was his 28th of his career. He etched his ninth career double-double and ninth career double-digit rebounding game
- Samuel posted his second consecutive double-figure scoring game and the 10th of his career
- Munnings notched his first career double-double, second straight double-digit scoring game. He broke his previous career-highs of 12 points and nine rebounds set at Minnesota
- Junior Nick Coppola finished second in the conference last season in both assists and assist:turnover ratio. He dished out five assists with just one turnover (on an offensive foul)
Quoting ULM head coach Keith Richard
Opening Statement
“This was a good win for us. This is a tough place to play regardless of the circumstances. I’ve been here as a player, assistant coach and head coach – it’s a tough place to play and I’m very proud of our team.”
On ULM’s balanced scoring attack
“We had a lot of guys play pretty well. Our game plan was to really use our length, height and our aggression toward the rim. We shot 50 percent in the first half, 43 percent in the second and 47 percent for the game. There were a lot of plays at the rim for us and so I’m really proud of our players for following the plan. We had a height advantage and we used it. We had a lot of lay-ups. We had 23 offensive rebounds. So I’m really happy that the players were able to hear a game-plan offensively and go out and execute it. It brings credibility to the next game and so on.”
On Travis Munnings
“He had some turnovers that he’s got to clean up as a freshman, and he had some at Minnesota as well. Those are freshman-type turnovers, but the rebounding has been very good so far. He got some big offensive rebounds when we needed some points early in the game and he helped us get out to that lead. Travis is doing his thing; we see it every day in practice. He’s quietly a really good player and did well tonight.”
On the team moving forward
“I like our schemes both defensively and offensively. We will continue to work to get better over the next nine or so days until our next game. I like what we’re doing. There aren’t a lot of tricks, but we still need to find who can play off this bench in terms. Tonight we went with Marcus Washington a little bit to try him. He did a good job and played within himself which is what I wanted him to do. He had zero turnovers, which again, is what I wanted him to do. He’s been a little turnover-prone in practice but not tonight which is a good thing. He also did a little scoring for us; so that is good news. I really wanted to see DeMondre [Harvey] have a good game and he did. In the second half he was outstanding. So we’ll continue to look at all of these guy’s off the bench.”
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Hollowell’s 25 Leads Georgia State to 77-58 Win Over Emmanuel College
ATLANTA-Led by a career-high 25 points from redshirt-junior Jeremy Hollowell, Georgia State cruised to a 77-58 win over Emmanuel College on Thursday night at the GSU Sports Arena.
Georgia State started the season 2-0 for the first time since the 2000-01 season and won its ninth-straight at home, the fourth-longest home court winning streak in program history.
Hollowell finished 10-of-15 from the floor with three steals, giving him eight on the young season. His previous career high was 18 point while playing at Indiana.
Senior Kevin Ware added 19 points, making 9-of-11 free throws, while pulling down five rebounds and dishing out four assists. Senior Markus Crider added 12 points and six rebounds on 6-of-9 shooting.
“The process continues, but I feel like we are starting to create our own identity,” head coach Ron Hunter said. “Going into a game, we always have a goal of holding a team under 40 percent shooting and 60 points and we were able to do both of those tonight. Regardless of how many we score, we feel as if we do both of those, we will be in great shape on any night.”
Emmanuel College was held to 39.6 percent shooting, but managed to hit 9-of-29 from 3-point range.
Georgia State improved to 49-13 in its last 62 games dating back to Dec. 14, 2013. The win also gave the Panthers a 27-1 record in the GSU Sports Arena since the start of the 2013-14 season.
Emmanuel College controlled the pace of the game early and took a 19-17 lead with just under 10 minutes to play in the first half, knocking down four 3-pointers during that time.
From trailing by two, Georgia State used a 22-5 run to end the half and enter the locker room with a 39-24 lead, holding the Lions without a field goal over the final 6:39 of the half. Hollowell finished with 16 first half points on 6-of-8 field goals.
The Panthers shot 59.3 percent in the opening half, going 16-of-27 from the floor, while holding Emmanuel College to just 34.6 percent shooting and forcing nine turnovers. Georgia State dominated the paint, outscoring the Lions 26-4.
Georgia State opened the second half scoring the first five points to push the lead to 20 at 44-24 before the Lions got back on the board.
The Panthers finished the game shooting 56.9 percent from the floor and outscoring the Lions in the paint 46-14.
“We knew that we wanted to push it inside and get some easy shots tonight,” Hunter said. “I think we are going to be a good 3-point shooting team, it is just going to take some time.”
Elijah Robinson led the Lions with 13 points, while Austin Green added 10.
Georgia State will return to action next Wednesday traveling to Oxford, Miss., to face Ole Miss. The game will air live on the SEC Network at 5 p.m. ET. The Panthers return home on Nov. 27 facing IUPUI at 7 p.m. ET.
www.GeorgiaStateSports.com
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SIMMONS, LSU TOO MUCH FOR MEN'S BASKETBALL
BATON ROUGE, La. - LSU's Ben Simmons led all players with 23 points and 16 rebounds as the Tigers defeated the University of South Alabama men's basketball team 78-66 Thursday night at the Maravich Center, part of the Legends Classic.
The No. 23/19 Tigers remain undefeated at 3-0 while the Jaguars drop to 1-2.
"I thought we came out and played really well," USA head coach Matthew Graves said. "We got off to a good start. That's obviously important when you are on the road against a very good team in LSU. I felt like early on, in the first 12 minutes, we played some pretty good basketball. We took better shots. We did a decent job of keeping them out of transition.
"The turning point in the game was eight minutes to go in the first half. We went into a little bit of a drought. We went 2 for 14 through that stretch. It extended a little bit, but during the second half I thought we battled back. We kept them out of transition and took better shots. Ultimately your margin for error is very small against a team like this. That eight minutes to end the first half really hurt us."
LSU led by 12 at halftime and as many as 19 early in the second half. The Jags got as close as 10 midway through the period but was unable to get any closer.
South Alabama shot 48.5 percent in the second half after converting just 31.3 percent in the first, and were even in points 38-38.
"I'm really proud of how we hung together," Graves said. "It would have been easy to hang your head; you're down 19 on the road and coming off a loss at N.C. State. Our guys fought and played really well."
The Jaguars had four in double-digit points, led by junior Nick Stover's (Los Angeles, Calif.) team-high 13, with 11 coming after halftime. Junior Georgi Boyanov (Lovech, Bulgaria) had 12, and juniors Ken Williams (Houston, Texas) and Don MuepoKelly (Fontana, Calif.) had 10 each.
MuepoKelly grabbed a career-best 10 rebounds for his first-ever double-double.
"Don was very aggressive driving the ball," Graves stated. "When he didn't settle for jump shots, he was able to get in the paint and cause some problems with his physicality and the way he got five offensive rebounds. He was absolutely tremendous off the bench.
"I was happy to see Nick settle and get in more of a groove. Shooting 6 of 9 was very efficient for him."
South Alabama trailed 23-19 at the 9:57 mark of the first half after the second of back-to-back dunks from junior Tafari Whittingham (Brooklyn, N.Y.), and a 5-0 run from sophomore Shaq Calhoun (Rome, Ga.) closed the gap to 32-26 with 5:07 left before halftime. However, the Jags made just one field goal in the final 6:21 - none in the last 3:51 - as the Tigers scored eight of the final 10 points of the half to take a 40-28 advantage into the break.
USA finished the half shooting 1 for 10 from the floor.
"You have to credit them (LSU)," Graves said. "They are long and do some things defensively that make it hard. We quit driving and kicking and took too many early shots. When you do that, you don't have defensive balance and you can't get back in time. That was really a turning point. We were holding them down in the half court, but we just weren't able to make up any ground."
The Tigers were unable to completely pull away, despite opening a 19- and 16-point lead in the second half. The Jaguars got to 57-47 with 10:59 left after four unanswered points from Stover, and closed to 11 points three times in the final four minutes but could not break into single digits.
Simmons set new season highs in both points and rebounds. He scored 13 of his 23 points in the first half, and recorded nine of his 16 boards after intermission. He added three assists, two steals and no turnovers.
"I think it will be fun watching him in the NBA over the next 10 to 15 years," Graves said. "He's an outstanding basketball player. As a coach, what I appreciate about him is his willingness to share and pass the basketball. You can tell he has a real joy playing the game. It's fun to watch even though it's not fun to coach against him."
The Jaguars move on to the Kennesaw State Subregional of the Legends Classic where they will take on Belmont Monday at 3 p.m. CST.
NOTES: USA drops to 4-9 against SEC schools since the 2007-08 season, and 2-3 against its last five ranked opponents... LSU avenged a loss to the Jaguars in their last meeting in 2011-12... MuepoKelly's double-double is the first by a Jaguar this season... Boyanov had led the team in rebounding in each of the first two games, but was held to three boards tonight... His 5-for-7 (71.4%) shooting is the best single-game performance by a USA player this season; he made all three shots in the second half... The Jags, who entered the game tied for third in the league in 3-pointers with 8.5 per contest, were held to seven tonight on 24 attempts... Williams dished out a team-best three assists for the third game in a row.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
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Troy Falls to UAB on Thursday
TROY, Alabama – The Troy men’s basketball team couldn’t complete the comeback as it fell to in-state rival UAB, 79-63, Thursday night at Trojan Arena.
The Trojans worked their way back from a 13-point deficit to tie the game at 32 with 16:29 to go in the second half, but couldn’t find a way to take the lead.
Jordon Varnado earned his third-straight game with 20-plus points, shooting 9-of-14 from the floor, on his way to a game-high 24 points, while reeling in seven rebounds. John Walton III led all on the glass with 10 rebounds, narrowly missing a double-double with nine points. Wesley Person shot 3-of-8 from long range on his way to double figures with 13 points.
After a rocky start to the game, UAB quickly jumped out to a 21-8 lead with just under nine minutes to play in the first. The Trojans were relentless as they went on a 13-2 spurt to cut the Blazers’ lead to one at 25-24.
The momentum continued to flow in Troy’s favor as it came out of the break to go on a 8-0 run, to tie the game at 32. After trading baskets, the Blazers went on their own 13-2 run, which the Trojans could never recover from.
The Blazers were led by Lewis Sullivan, who was near perfect on the night, shooting 6-of-7 from the floor, and 10-of-11 from the charity stripe, on the way to a team-high 22 points. Robert Brown ended the night with 18 points while Nick Norton dished out a game-high 10 assists. The Blazer bench outscored the Trojans’, 46-10.
The Trojans hit the road for three games in three days as they head to Denton, Texas, for the Mean Green Showcase, hosted by North Texas. Troy will face Samford, Idaho and North Texas on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.