MONROE, La. | Dallas Polk-Hilliard registered a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds, but it wasn't enough to overcome an eight-point halftime deficit as the Grambling State University men's basketball team dropped a 72-67 decision to Louisiana-Monroe on Tuesday night at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
 
The Tigers (4-6), who have dropped their last two games, trailed 28-20 at the half and by as many as 17 points before rallying down the stretch to cut the margin to four points, before eventually falling to the Warhawks.
 
Polk-Hilliard was the catalyst on Tuesday night with 18 points, on 6-of-12 shooting, a team-high 11 rebounds (eight defensively), a team-high three blocked shots and one assist. Ivy Smith, Jr., back after being out two games due to an injury, tallied 12 points, three assists and two boards, while Devante Jackson added 12 points, four rebounds, one assist and one blocked shot.
 
Daishon Smith led Louisiana-Monroe (4-4) with 18 points, three rebounds, two assists and one steal. Travis Munnings recorded 16 points, four rebounds, two steals and two assists, while Michael Ertel and JD Williams each added 11 points. Andre Washington paced the Warhawks on the glass with 11 rebounds.
 
Turning Point
Louisiana-Monroe led 18-10 after a Daishon Smith 3-pointer with 7:17 left in the first half and took a 28-20 advantage into the break.
 
Grambling State closed the gap to 28-24 after a bucket by Nigel Ribeiro with 19:13 remaining, but the Warhawks used a 15-2 run over the next five minutes to take a commanding 43-26 advantage.
 
The Tigers continued to trail by double digits until the nine-minute mark of the second half as a 3-pointer by Ivy Smith, Jr. cut the deficit to 55-47 with 9:19 left.
 
Louisiana-Monroe pushed the advantage to 66-55 after a layup by Michael Eriel with 4:26 remaining, but Grambling State mounted a rally and used a 7-0 run, capped by a Dallas Polk-Hilliard bucket, to close the margin to 66-62 with 2:17 remaining.
 
However, that would be as close as the Tigers would get.
 
Inside the Numbers
> Grambling State shot 40.8 percent (20-of-49) from the floor and 75.9 percent (22-of-29) from the charity stripe
> Louisiana-Monroe was 20-of-54 (37.0 percent) from the field and 25-of-35 (71.4 percent) from the foul line
> The Tigers registered 41 rebounds, including 33 off the defensive glass
> The Warhawks pulled down 31 rebounds, with only seven coming on the offensive end
> Grambling State finished with 35 bench points, 22 points in the paint, six points off six Warhawk turnovers and five second-chance points
> Louisiana-Monroe recorded 22 points in the paint, eight points off 15 Tiger turnovers, eight second-chance points, six bench points and two fastbreak points
 
Up Next
Grambling State wraps up its three-game road trip on Saturday night as the Tigers visit Portland. Tip-off in Portland, Ore. is set for 9 p.m. (central).
 
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