MONROE, La. – ULM's Daishon Smith scored 21 of his game-high 38 points in the second half, leading the Warhawks to an 88-79 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball victory over visiting Georgia Southern on Friday evening at the Fant-Ewing Coliseum in Monroe, La.

Smith hit 10-of-20 shots from the floor, including 5-of-11 from three-point range, while adding 13-of-15 shots from the free throw line for his 38 points. Tookie Brown led a trio of Eagles in double figures on the night with 28 points. Quan Jackson added 20 points and Simeon Carter chipped in 10 points off the bench.

Eagle of the Game
Brown had his second straight stellar scoring night, following up his 32-point performance on Wednesday at Louisiana with 28 points on Friday night on 11-of-17 shooting from the field, including 5-of-7 three-pointers. He also added 10 assists for the double-double, his third career game with 10 or more assists.

Key moments
ULM scored the first five points of the second half to build a 44-36 lead, but the Eagles (14-10, 6-5) quickly erased that lead on back-to-back threes from Calvin Wishart and Brown, then a Quan Jackson bucket tied the game at 44-all with 17:16 remaining.

The two teams traded the lead over the next couple of minutes, but Georgia Southern would pull ahead and hold its largest lead of the game, 60-55, after three free throws from Jackson with 11:36 left. 

That's when ULM embarked on a 22-8 run over the next seven minutes, with 15 of those points coming from the Warhawks' Smith, to take control of the game, 77-68, with 3:42 remaining.

Inside the Numbers
Both teams shot well from the field after halftime with the Warhawks shooting 51.7 percent, including 5-of-10 from three-point range, and Georgia Southern shooting even better, hitting 60 percent from the field. But the Warhawks used a sizeable advantage at the free throw line (21 free throws to 11 for the Eagles) to claim the victory. ULM improved to 11-1 at home with the win.

Next up
The Eagles cap the regular season with five of seven games in Hanner Fieldhouse. The stretch starts Wednesday against South Alabama with tipoff set for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.