ULM holds off late rally by Southeastern

MONROE, La. – Southeastern senior guard Eddy Polanco tossed in 23 points and junior guard Keith Charleston recorded the third double-double of his career but ULM closed on a 14-3 run to pull away to an 86-75 non-conference win in Fant-Ewing Coliseum Thursday night.

Polanco his four 3-pointers in finishing one off his career high for points. Charleston tied career highs with 15 points and 10 rebounds in picking up his first double-double since Gardner-Webb during the 2015-16 season. Senior forward Jordan Capps added 14 points and seven rebounds while junior forward Moses Greenwood had nine and eight, respectively. Southeastern (1-2) shot 40.3 percent and had 35 rebounds.

ULM (1-2) had four players in double digits. Travis Munnings had 19 points and six rebounds. Marvin Jean-Pierre also had 19 points while Michael Ertel contributed 18 points and six boards. Sam McDonald had 11 points off the bench. The Warhawks shot 46.2 percent and grabbed 41 rebounds.

Southeastern had cut a 14-point deficit to 69-67 on a four-point play by Polanco with 4:49 left. But after Ertel and Polanco traded 3s, Ertel drove in for a layup and Jean-Pierre added a three-point play to give ULM a 77-70 lead at the 3:43 mark. The Lions got to within 81-75 on a 3 by senior guard Jabbar Singleton with 1:53 remaining. But Jean-Pierre countered with a 3 as ULM made six of its final eight field goals.

Southeastern got out to a 4-0 lead on a jumper by Greenwood with 18:49 left in the first half. ULM went ahead on a 3 by Jean-Pierre at the 16:53 mark. The Warhawks then built a 22-16 lead on a McDonald 3 with 9:37 left. The Lions rallied to tie the game at 24 on a layup by Capps with 6:25 remaining. Singleton fed Charleston for a dunk to give Southeastern its final lead at 31-30 with 4:52 left.

A layup by Sam Alabakis put ULM ahead for good at 33-31 at the 4:22 mark. A pair of Jean-Pierre free throws gave the Warhawks a 41-35 halftime lead.

Southeastern pulled to with 50-48 on a 3 by junior guard Marlain Veal with 15:35 left. But ULM responded with a 16-4 run to take a 66-52 lead on a Munnings layup with 7:33 left.

Polanco drained a 3 to start a 15-3 run for Southeastern over the next three minutes.         

NOTES:

Polanco is now 17-for-17 on free throws this season after going 7-for-7 from the line Thursday.

ULM now leads the series 62-30.

UP NEXT:     

Southeastern opens play in the Savannah Invitational Sunday at Valparaiso at 3 p.m. The Lions then travel to Kent State Tuesday for a 6 p.m. tip. After a break for Thanksgiving, Southeastern concludes play in the tournament with a pair of 1 p.m. games in Birmingham, Ala. – Friday versus Samford and Saturday against Mississippi Valley State. All four games can be heard on KSLU-90.9 FM.

BOX SCORE

ULM 86, SOUTHEASTERN LA. 75

SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA (1-2)

Polanco, Eddy 6-11 7-7 23; Charleston, Keith 6-15 0-0 15; Capps, Jordan 5-10 3-6 14; Greenwood, Moses 3-7 3-5 9; Singleton, Jabbar 2-5 0-0 6; Veal, Marlain 2-6 0-0 5; Currington, James 1-4 1-2 3; Gonzalez, Brandon 0-1 0-0 0; West, D’Angelo 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 25-62 14-20 75.

ULM (1-2)

Jean-Pierre, Marvin 5-11 5-7 19; Munnings, Travis 7-11 4-6 19; Ertel, Michael 7-14 0-0 18; McDaniel, Sam 4-10 2-2 11; Harris, Jordan 2-7 2-2 7; Alabakis, Sam 2-3 0-0 4; Taylor, Roderick 1-2 1-2 3; Anderson, Calvin 1-4 0-0 3; Deng, Kiir 1-1 0-0 2; Walker, Donovan 0-2 0-0 0; Newman, Brandon 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-65 14-19 86.

Southeastern Louisiana……..   35   40  –   75

ULM………………………   41   45  –   86

3-point goals–Southeastern Louisiana 11-22 (Polanco, Eddy 4-5; Charleston, Keith 3-5; Singleton, Jabbar 2-4; Veal, Marlain 1-2; Capps, Jordan 1-2; Gonzalez, Brandon 0-1; West, D’Angelo 0-2; Greenwood, Moses 0-1), ULM 12-30 (Ertel, Michael 4-8; Jean-Pierre, Marvin 4-6; McDaniel, Sam 1-3; Anderson, Calvin 1-4; Munnings, Travis 1-2; Harris, Jordan 1-6; Walker, Donovan 0-1). Fouled out–Southeastern Louisiana-None, ULM-Alabakis, Sam. Rebounds–Southeastern Louisiana 35 (Charleston, Keith 10), ULM 41 (Munnings, Travis 6; Ertel, Michael 6). Assists–Southeastern Louisiana 17 (Veal, Marlain 7), ULM 17 (Harris, Jordan 7). Total fouls—Southeastern Louisiana 17, ULM 20. Technical fouls–Southeastern Louisiana-None, ULM-None. A-1602