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MONROE, La. – Tylor Ongwae and Majok Deng combined for 44 points and 16 rebounds to lead the University of Louisiana at Monroe to a 71-65 victory over Vermont in the semifinal round of the CBI Tournament at the Fant-Ewing Coliseum on Wednesday night.
Vermont closes its season with a 20-14 record. The Warhawks improve to 24-12 and move on to a championship series against Loyola Chicago. The Ramblers posted a 63-48 win over Seattle in the other semifinal.
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Box Score (.pdf)
CatamounTV HighlightsEthan O'Day paced Vermont with a team-high 16 points on 7-for-11 shooting and added seven rebounds.
Dre Wills chipped in 11 points, grabbed four rebounds and handed out four assists, while
Kurt Steidl added 11 points.
Ongwae netted 22 points on 7-for-17 shooting, while Deng set a new career-high with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Jamaal Samuel rounded out the leading scores for ULM with 14 points.
Vermont trailed by as many as 14 in the first half as the Catamounts started the game 4-for-14 from the field. A layup by
Drew Urquhart sparked a 14-4 run that closed the lead to four, 24-20, with 8:15 remaining in the half.
The Warhawks pushed back out to an eight-point advantage on a jumper by Deng, but UVM's nationally ranked defense would hold ULM without a point over the next five minutes and Vermont used an 11-1 run to close the half to take a 35-33 lead into the break.
Vermont's lead grew to seven in the opening minutes of the second half. O'Day hit the first two shots of the stanza and Steidl added a 3-pointer to give UVM a 35-42 lead at the 18:31 mark.
A tip-in by Deng ignited a 17-2 run for ULM that spanned six minutes and the Warhawks regained a 52-44 lead. ULM pushed its advantage to double digits on a 3-point play by Ongwae at the 8:14 mark.
Cam Ward drained a 3-pointer with 5:07 remaining to slice the lead to five, but a 3-point play by Deng pushed ULM's lead to eight with 3:39 left. Ward converted a layup with 2:50 remaining to bring UVM within four, but Ongwae scored five straight points, including a 3-pointer at the 1:22 mark, to push the Warhawks' lead to nine and help ULM secure the victory.