CHICAGO – The ULM men's basketball program ran into a hot-shooting Loyola-Chicago squad as the Ramblers took a 65-58 decision at Gentile Arena on Monday in game one of the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) best of three championship series.

The Ramblers (23-13) shot 50.9 percent from the field, including 53.3 percent in the second half. Though despite the hot shooting, ULM (24-13) made a comeback and trailed by just three points with 4:33 left in the game, but Loyola was able to hold off the Warhawks and close it out late.

Junior Jamaal Samuel led the team with 15 points including a trio of three-pointers. Senior Tylor Ongwae registered a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds and also dished out six assists.

Junior Justin Roberson netted 11 points while junior Majok Deng put in 10 points. Ongwae and sophomore Nick Coppola played 40 minutes apiece.

The Ramblers also had four double-figure scorers, led by Earl Peterson's 16 points. Christian Thomas scored 12 points, Montel James 11 and Devon Turk 10.

ULM trailed 10-5 early when it used an 8-0 run to go up 13-10, capped by a lay-in by Ongwae at the 8:14 mark. A three-pointer by Coppola gave the Warhawks a 16-12 edge with 6:58 remaining.

The Ramblers responded with a jumper and three-pointer to go back up 17-16 with 4:40 to go. Samuel hit a pair of three-pointers to put ULM back in the lead, 26-22 at the 1:58 mark. Loyola scored the last bucket of the half, but the Warhawks took a 26-24 advantage into the break.

ULM led 33-31 early in the second half when Loyola used a 7-0 run to go up 38-33 with 14:31 remaining. Loyola's offense stayed hot and pushed its lead up to 55-44 with 8:08 left after making 12-17 (.706) shots at that point in the half.

ULM came back as Deng and Coppola each hit three-pointers to cut the deficit to 57-52 at the 6:01 mark. A tip-in by junior DeMondre Harvey made it a three-point game, 59-56, with 4:33 to go.

ULM could not get any closer as the Ramblers scored the next six points to push their lead up to 65-56 down the stretch.

The two teams will square off again in game two of the series in Monroe on Whiteout Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. at Fant-Ewing Coliseum. If ULM wins Wednesday, a third and final game will be played on Friday at 7:00 p.m. at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.

NOTES

- It marked the first-ever meeting between the two programs. The Ramblers became the first team to shoot over 50 percent from the field against the Warhawks this season. ULM's previous high in field goal percentage-against was .490 at Appalachian State

- The Warhawks remained as one of three teams in the nation to not allow 75 points in a single game this season along with Saint Peter's and Baylor. ULM is the only team on the list still playing

- ULM moved to 20-3 on the season when it has at least three double-figure scorers and 9-1 when it has at least four double-figure scorers

- The Warhawks won eight of their last 11 road games to finish their schedule away from home. It included a stretch of six road victories in a row, the most since 1993-94

- Samuel posted his ninth career double-figure scoring game and the eighth this season. He's scored in double-digits in four of the last five games. Samuel's trio of three-pointers matched a career-high

- Ongwae tallied his fifth double-double of the season and eighth in his career. It was his 49th career double-figure scoring game and 25th this season. It was also his eighth career double-digit rebounding game and fifth this year. Ongwae played 40 minutes for the 11th time in his career and eighth time this season

- Ongwae is now 29 points away from becoming the 36th 1,000 point scorer in school history. He would be the seventh player to do it in just two seasons. Ongwae is averaging 21.8 points per game in the CBI

- Deng reached double-figures in scoring for the 24th time this year. He got his hands on three steals which marked a career-high

- Roberson recorded double-figures for the 15th time this season. He entered the game leading the team in steals and poked away a pair

- Coppola played 40 minutes for the 16th time this season and 24th time in his career. He entered the game ranking fourth in the nation in total minutes

- ULM outrebounded Loyola 34-29 in the contest, including a 16-8 edge in offensive rebounds

Quoting ULM head coach Keith Richard

Opening Statement

“Congratulations to Loyola-Chicago, the difference in the game was their toughness. We couldn't guard them because of the way they drove the ball and made plays at the rim. We were trying, it wasn't a lack of effort on our part. Loyola-Chicago just played with more grit and toughness on the offensive end than we did. We played more finesse, a lot of balls tipped out of our hands and missed layups. Loyola-Chicago made all those plays that we didn't and you could see why they've won all the games that they've won. They have a lack of height but it doesn't matter when they play like that offensively. We just couldn't stop them all night long and we're going to have to play at another level defensively if we want to win the next game.”

On any adjustments ULM tried to make in the second half

“We tried everything. We tried four guard lineups, zone, man, switching man-to-man – we tried it all. Loyola-Chicago just drives it, they drive it very physically. Their guards are bigger and stronger than our guards. Even when we did a good job at times, they'd spin and make a play at the rim. Their bigs are not as tall as ours but they did an excellent job of driving our guys and getting into them. They made their point-blank shots. I'm not mad at our guys, they were trying, but they're just going to have to play a different way if they're going to win a game. That's a credit to Loyola-Chicago, they were outstanding in that area tonight.”

On having four double-figure scorers

“Well we only shot 37 percent from the field. It wasn't good enough, even though we've won a few games with that. Tylor missed a lot of plays at the rim. Loyola-Chicago made all those plays and we're going to have to bring a different style of basketball to Wednesday night. We can't play a finesse game against these guys and expect to win.”

On looking forward to bringing the series back to Monroe

“It will be good, but we're going to have to play better. Loyola-Chicago is a tough team. They aren't very big in terms of height, but they are physical. They play very aggressive offensively and we're going to have to do better on the defensive end. We're not a great offensive team, and we haven't been all year, but we've been a great defensive team all year; tonight, we weren't great. This game was lost on our defense against their offense. Their offense won tonight. The crowd will help us back home, it will be electric and a good atmosphere.”