GAME BASICS
ULM hosts Western Kentucky on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in
the conference opener for both squads. The game is the second part of a doubleheader at Fant-Ewing Coliseum as the ULM women's team hosts Western Kentucky at 5:15 p.m. The men's game can be heard locally on KLIP
105.3 FM in Monroe or online at ulmwarhawks.com, with Nick White calling the
action. Both games will be televised by the Hilltopper Sports Satellite and
will be available on ESPN Full Court and ESPN3, with Randy Lee and Hal Schmitt
on the call.
LAST GAME: LOUISIANA TECH RECAP
ULM fell to 0-2 on the season with a 68-52 loss at
Louisiana Tech on Saturday. The Warhawks trailed 36-34 with 17:46 remaining in
the game before Louisiana Tech used a 21-0 run -- spanning eight minutes -- to
take control.
ULM finished with 22 turnovers, the most in a game since
committing 26 at Iowa two seasons ago. It marked just the second time under
head coach Keith Richard that the Warhawks have committed 20-plus
turnovers in a game.
ULM raced out to an early 8-2 lead and led by as many as
seven (17-10) in the first half before Louisiana Tech rallied to take a 36-28
lead at halftime. The Warhawks shot a blistering 54.5 percent from the field in
the opening half, but cooled down in the second half, shooting 33.3 percent.
Sophomore guard Trent Mackey finished with a
career-best 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting. Mackey also made 3 of 5 from 3-point
range and 2 of 2 from the free throw line as he surpassed his previous
career-high of 13 points.
Juniors R.J. McCray and Jayon James each
recorded 10 points and four assists against the Bulldogs. It was the first time
that James has recorded double figures in scoring in his career and the fifth
time that McCray has reached double figures. Junior guard Amos Olatayo
finished with a game-high nine rebounds and three steals for the Warhawks.
ULM TRENDS
• Through two games, ULM is averaging 51.5 points per game
while shooting 38.5 percent (40-of-104) from the field, 21.4 percent from
3-point range (6-of-28) and 53.1 percent from the free-throw line (17-of-32).
• Junior guard Amos
Olatayo leads the Warhawks with an average of 14.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and
3.0 steals in 32.0 minutes this season.
• The Warhawks have
four players averaging at least eight points per game so far: Olatayo (14.0),
sophomore Trent Mackey (8.5), junior R.J. McCray (8.5) and junior
Jayon James (8.0).
• The Warhawks have
recorded 18 steals in two games, led by Olatayo with six and junior Millaun
Brown with five.
PREVIEWING WESTERN KENTUCKY
Western Kentucky enters play Thursday with a record of
4-2 on the season with wins over Austin Peay (74-54), Western Carolina (92-81),
DePaul (70-61) and Brescia, Ky. (74-46). The Hilltoppers are averaging 71.5
points per game and shooting 40.7 percent from the field, 24.4 percent from
3-point range and 63.9 percent from the free-throw line.
Senior Jamal Crook is the Hilltoppers' leading
scorer, averaging 17.7 points and 4.0 assists per game. Crook is shooting 58.1
percent from the field (36-of-62) and 76.9 percent from the free-throw line
(30-of-39). Also averaging double figures in points are sophomores T.J.
Price (13.7 ppg) and George Fant (10.4 ppg).
Ray Harper is in
his first full season as the head coach at Western Kentucky after taking over
in the middle of last season and guiding the Hilltoppers to the Sun Belt
Tournament championship and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Western
Kentucky has gone 15-10 since Harper took over as head coach. Harper also has
head-coaching stops at NAIA Oklahoma City University (2006-08) and NCAA Division
II Kentucky Wesleyan (1997-2005), where he combined to win four national
championships.
ULM-WESTERN KENTUCKY SERIES
• Western Kentucky
owns a 7-1 advantage in the all-time series against ULM, including three
straight wins in the series.
• The current winning
streak started with an 81-61 WKU victory over ULM in Bowling Green on Feb. 5,
2011. Later that season WKU knocked off ULM 66-50 in the first round of the Sun
Belt Conference Tournament in Hot Springs, Ark.
• The Hilltoppers
held on to defeat the Warhawks 76-71 in overtime last season in Monroe in the
only meeting between the two teams
• ULM's lone win in
the series came in a thrilling 67-66 victory in Monroe on Feb. 4, 2010.
LAST MEETING AGAINST WESTERN KENTUCKY
• ULM rallied from a
15-point deficit in the second half to force overtime before eventually falling
to Western Kentucky 76-71 last season in Fant-Ewing Coliseum. It marked the
first overtime game for the Warhawks since 2008.
• The Hilltoppers
scored the first four points of the overtime period and sealed the victory by
going 8 of 13 from the free-throw line in the extra session. Western Kentucky
finished the game 28 of 39 from the charity stripe.
• The Warhawks shot
46.4 percent (26-of-56) from the field but went just 5-of-16 from 3-point
range.
• Hugh Mingo had a
game-high 23 points for the Warhawks, including a game-tying 3-pointer with 2.5
seconds remaining in regulation to send the game into overtime.
• George Fant
finished with 17 points, while Derrick Gordon tallied 13 points and Kevin
Kaspar contributed 11 points for the Hilltoppers.
ULM IN SUN BELT OPENERS
The Warhawks are 1-5 in Sun Belt openers with five
straight losses. ULM is 0-2 under head coach Keith Richard, but ULM has played
tough in both games, losing by a combined seven points against Florida Atlantic
(58-60) and Western Kentucky (71-76, OT).This marks the third straight season
that ULM has opened the conference slate at home.
UP NEXT
ULM continues Sun Belt play Saturday
as it travels to face UALR at 7 p.m. inside the Jack Stephens Center.
