Ertel earns National, Sun Belt & LSWA Player of the Week honors

MONROE, La. – ULM junior guard Michael Ertel, who averaged 25.0 points and 4.0 assists per game as ULM completed a home sweep over Troy (79-63) and South Alabama (69-49) to even its Sun Belt Conference record at 2-2, has been named the Lou Henson Award National (Mid-Major) Player of the Week by CollegeInsider.com.

The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Ertel hit 17-of-29 field-goal attempts (.586), including 12-of-23 3-pointers (.522), and 4-of-5 free-throw attempts (.800) over those two games. He also posted an assist-to-turnover ratio of 8-to-2.

In addition, Ertel has been selected Sun Belt Conference Co-Player of the Week (shares honor with Little Rock forward Kamani Johnson) and Louisiana Sports Writers Association Player of the Week for his performances against Troy and USA.

He connected on 14-of-24 shots from the floor, including 11-of-21 from behind the 3-point arc, and finished with a career-high 39 points against South Alabama. His 11 3-pointers set a ULM single-game record, breaking the previous mark of 10 set by Daishon Smith against Little Rock on Jan. 3, 2019. Ertel’s 11 3s also tied the Sun Belt record for a league game (Lamar’s Keith Veney: 11 made vs. Little Rock, Feb. 11, 1993). His 11 made 3-pointers are the most by an NCAA Division I player this season.

It took Ertel just 20 minutes to eclipse his previous career high of 26 points by scoring 28 points in the opening half against USA, hitting 10-of-12 shots from the field including 8-of-10 3-pointers. He set the tone early, hitting six 3s in the first 10:48 and scoring 20 of ULM’s first 25 points as the Warhawks raced out to a 25-11 lead. Ertel buried his record-breaking 3-pointer from the right wing with 11 minutes left in the game. He also matched his career high with six assists (and no turnovers) against the Jaguars.

The Indianapolis, Indiana, native contributed 11 points against Troy and hit four-straight free throws in the final 3:47 to help ULM maintain a double-digit lead.