Louisiana-Monroe routs South Alabama, 77-59

NEW ORLEANS (AP) Tyler Ongwae scored 17 points and led four players in double-figure scoring as No. 3 Louisiana-Monroe romped past No. 6 South Alabama, 77-59, and into the semifinals of the Sun Belt Conference tournament Friday night.

The Warhawks (21-11) face second-seeded Georgia Southern in the second of two semifinals Saturday. Top-seeded Georgia Southern faces Nol. 5 Louisiana-Lafayette first semi.

Louisiana-Monroe built a 10-point lead in the first half and led by as many as 24 points after a Mack Foster layup with 3:12 to play. South Alabama closed the game on an 8-2 run to cut the margin of victory. ULM shot 50 percent (9 of 18) from beyond the arc and was 32 of 77 overall from the field.

Majok Deng scored 12 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for the Warhawks and Nick Coppola added another 12 points. DeMondre Harvey contributed 11.

Dionte Ferguson scored 16 points to lead South Alabama (12-21), with Ken Williams adding another 13 points. The Jaguars were 22 of 60 from the field, including 5 of 19 from distance.