Red-hot South Alabama stops ULM, 80-69

MOBILE, Ala. – South Alabama used a 10-2 run midway through the second half to open up a nine-point lead and never let ULM have a possession with a chance to tie or take the lead the rest of the night, as the Jaguars defeated the Warhawks, 80-69, Friday night to close the regular season at the Mitchell Center.

The loss drops ULM to 11-18 overall and 6-12 in the Sun Belt Conference. The Warhawks will be the No. 12 seed in next week’s Hercules Tires Sun Belt Conference Championship and will open play in the first round against No. 13 seed Coastal Carolina at 5 p.m. Tuesday at the Pensacola Bay Center in Pensacola, Florida. South Alabama finishes the regular season 16-15 overall and 8-10 in the SBC to finish as the No. 9 seed in the tournament.

“Bottom line for the game is that we lost because we couldn’t guard them in the half court in the second half,” ULM head coach Keith Richard said. “It was scoring at the rim and timely threes. It wasn’t a lack of effort, we just couldn’t get it done.

“When a team scores (46) on you in the second half, you have to be just as good on the offensive end, which, that’s pretty hard for us to score that much in a half. We needed to be better on the defensive end, and they made some tough, physical plays.”

Nika Metskhvarishvili led ULM with 18 points, while Jerry Ngopot added a career-high 17 points to go with eight rebounds, all of which came on the offensive end. Tyrell Jones scored 19 of his game-high 21 points in the second half to lead South Alabama, while Samuel Tabe added 14 points, Marcus Millender had 13 points and Marshall Kearing had 12 points.

ULM answered South Alabama’s energy on Senior Night early. Kearing scored eight quick points, including a pair of 3-pointers, to put the Jaguars up 11-6. The Warhawks responded with a layup by Ngopot and a 3-pointer by Metskhvarishvili to tie the game 11 with 16:07 left before halftime.

ULM used a 9-0 run to take its first lead, going on top with a jumper in the lane by Tyreese Watson, while Metskhvarishvili added another trey, Ngopot knocked down a jumper from the wing and Bolden hit a second-chance layup to put the Warhawks up 23-15.

The Warhawks led by six, 27-21, when USA went on an 8-0 run to take the 29-27 lead on a 3-pointer by Julian Margrave with 6:51 left in the half. The two sides played a one possession game for the remainder of the half, but ULM didn’t regain the lead until Tyreke Locure’s 3-pointer with nine seconds left before the break, putting the Warhawks on top 36-34 at the half.

South Alabama took the lead back on a 3-pointer by Jones with 18:44 to play in the game, going up 42-40. ULM never led again. The Warhawks tied the game at 48 on a 3-point play by Watson with 13:48 left, but USA answered with Tabe’s layup on the next possession. ULM bounced right back with a layup by Ngopot to tie the game at 50, but USA pushed back ahead on the next possession with another trey by Jones for the 53-50 advantage. ULM never tied the game again.

The Jaguars used a 10-2 run to go ahead by nine, 63-54, on a layup by Kearing with 9:27 to play. The lead hit 10 for the first time at 67-57 on Isiah Gaiter’s jumper at the 8:05 mark.

ULM made a quick charge on a 7-0 run, sparked by AD Diedhiou’s tip-in and followed on the next two possessions by a 3-pointer by Jacob Wilson and a layup by Metskhvarishvili to close within three, 67-64 with 5:54 remaining. However, ULM could never get possession with a chance to tie the game or take the lead.

The Warhawks trailed 69-66 when South Alabama went on an 8-0 run to seal the game, as Jones picked up back-to-back layups and two free throws in the span.

ULM shot 39% (27-of-69) from the field, 29% (6-of-21) from the 3-point line and 64% (9-of-14) from the free throw line in the loss. South Alabama was hot all night, hitting 56% (30-of-54) from the field, 32% (7-of-22) from 3-point range and 81% (13-of-16) at the free throw line. ULM outrebounded South Alabama, 37-33, and had 17 offensive rebounds. The Warhawks turned the ball over just five times compared to 10 for South Alabama.