Marshall (17-6, 11-1 SBC) opened the game on a 17-2 run before Williams hit a 3-pointer and James hit a trio of free throws to cut the lead to 18-8 to close out the first frame.
Defensively, Louisiana held its fourth straight opponent to 55 points or less by limiting ULM to 29.2 percent (14-for-48) from the floor – its worst of the season – and 5-for-29 (17.2 percent) from long range.
Louisiana lost more than its share of close games heading into Thursday’s contest at James Madison. The Dukes made a practice of closing that type of game out during a