GAME BASICS
ULM (4-21, 3-16 SBC) and UL-Lafayette (11-19, 7-12 SBC)
square off in the regular-season finale for both teams Saturday at 4 p.m.
inside Fant-Ewing Coliseum. The Warhawks dropped a 67-58 decision at home to
FIU on Thursday while the Ragin' Cajuns are coming off a 77-68 loss at UALR.
The game will follow the ULM-UL-Lafayette women's game, which tips off at 2
p.m. Doubleheader tickets can be purchased for $5, $10 and $12 by contacting
the ULM Ticket Office.
Saturday's contest can be heard locally on KLIP 105.3 FM
in Monroe or online at ulmwarhawks.com, with Nick White calling the action.
Live video is also available on Warhawks All-Access.
PINK OUT
Fans are encouraged to wear pink on Saturday as part of
ULM's efforts to raise awareness for breast cancer. Pink shirts will be on sale
in the concourse for $10 ($5 for current ULM students). All the proceeds will
go to the local chapter of the Susan G. Komen foundation.
LAST GAME: FIU RECAP
• ULM led 30-23 at
halftime, but a pair of big runs in the second half propelled FIU to a 67-58
victory on Thursday inside Fant-Ewing Coliseum. The Panthers used a 17-0 run in
the final five minutes to build its largest lead of the night, 67-53, with 31
seconds remaining. The Warhawks snapped a five-minute scoring drought by
scoring the final five points of the game.
• FIU opened the
second half on a 20-4 run to take a 45-34 lead with 12:25 to play. ULM answered
back with a 17-4 run of its own to re-gain the lead. Freshman Kyle Koszuta
hit a pair of big 3-pointers during the run, including one with the shot clock
winding down to give the Warhawks a 51-48 lead.
• The Warhawks led
53-50 with 5:33 remaining before the Panthers took control. FIU, who entered
the night leading the Sun Belt in steals, forced ULM into 12 turnovers in the
second half that led to 21 points for the Panthers.
• ULM held FIU to
39.1 percent shooting in the first half, but the Panthers answered by shooting
57.7 percent in the second half. The Warhawks shot 44.6 percent from the field,
but got to the free-throw line a season-low three times (FIU outscored ULM 14-1
from the charity stripe).
• Sophomore Trent
Mackey paced the Warhawks with 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting. Mackey
increased his conference-leading 3-point percentage with a 3-of-5 effort on
Thursday. He is now just one 3-point make shy of moving into the top 10 on
ULM's single-season list.
• Junior guard Amos
Olatayo added 15 points on 7-of-13 shooting and Koszuta made three 3-pointers
and finished with nine points for the Warhawks. Junior Jayon James moved
into a tie for 10th place on ULM's single season assists list with seven on
Thursday.
ULM TRENDS
• ULM is 11th in the Sun Belt in scoring offense with an
average of 59.9 points per game. The Warhawks rank third in the conference in
field-goal percentage (.428), third in 3-point percentage (.355) and and 11th
in free-throw percentage (.579). ULM also ranks second in the conference in
assists per game (13.4), fifth in steals per game (7.1) and seventh in 3-point
makes per game (6.0).
• ULM has had a
balanced scoring attack this season with six players averaging at least 5.9
points per game. Eight different ULM players have scored in double-digits at
least once this season and four different players have registered at least 20
points in a game.
• Junior Amos
Olatayo leads the team and ranks fourth in the Sun Belt in scoring with
15.9 points in just 30.9 minutes per game. Olatayo has scored in double figures
a team-leading 15 times and he has registered 20 or more points eight times
this season. Olatayo ranks 12th in the Sun Belt in field-goal percentage
(.468). The Alief, Texas native has upped his scoring average (16.8 ppg) and
field-goal percentage (.485) in conference play.
• Junior Jayon
James averages 9.4 points and ranks second in the Sun Belt and 59th
nationally with 5.1 assists per game this season. James moved into a tie for
10th place with Bob Carson (1970-71) on ULM's single-season assists list with
127. James is now four assists shy of moving past Jamie Mayo (1978-79) for sole
possession of ninth place. James also
ranks 13th in the Sun Belt in rebounds per game (6.0) and fifth in
assist-turnover ratio (1.0). He has recorded double-digit assists in two games
this season, including a career-high 15 at FIU on Feb. 2.
• Sophomore Trent
Mackey leads the Sun Belt and ranks 16th nationally in 3-point percentage
(.440). He also ranks third in the conference and 45th nationally with an
average of 2.64 3-point makes per game. Mackey became just the 17th player in
school history to reach 100 career 3-point makes on Feb. 16 against Arkansas
State. He is just one 3-point makes shy of passing Anthony Jones (1990-91) for
10th place on ULM's single-season list and 14 makes away from moving into the
top 10 on the school's career list.
• Junior R.J.
McCray has started 24 straight games at the point guard position for ULM
and is averaging 7.1 points and 2.4 assists per game this season. McCray has
scored in double-digits eight times this season after notching double figures
just three times in his first two seasons with the Warhawks. McCray also has
eight games with at least four assists this season.
• Junior Millaun
Brown has started in 23 of ULM's 25 games this season and is averaging 5.9
points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Brown has scored in double-digits on four
occasions this season, including a career-high 21 points against North Texas on
Feb. 14. Brown pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds against Western Kentucky
on Feb. 21.
• The Warhawks do not
have a regular starter back from last season and returned just 28 percent of
their scoring and 24 percent of their rebounding from a season ago.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE TRACKER
• Jayon James ranks
sixth in the Sun Belt and 147th nationally with five double-doubles this
season. He is the only ULM player to record a double-double this season.
• James' five
double-doubles have come against Southeastern Louisiana (10 pts and 12 rbs),
Southern (11 pts and 11 rbs), Florida Atlantic (26 pts and 10 rbs), North Texas
(19 pts and 10 rbs) and FIU (11 pts and 15 assts).
JAMES MOVING UP SINGLE-SEASON ASSISTS LIST
Junior Jayon James continues to climb the ULM
single-season assists list as he has moved into a tie for 10th place with 127
on the season. The Paterson, N.J.,
native is just four assists away from passing Jamie Mayo for ninth place in
school history in single-season assists with at least two games remaining this
season.
MACKEY CLIMBING SINGLE-SEASON AND CAREER 3-POINTERS LIST
• Sophomore Trent
Mackey has already solidified himself as one of the top 3-point shooters in
the conference this season, and now he is closing in on one of the best seasons
in school history. With 66 3-point makes this season, Mackey is tied for11th
place on ULM's single-season list. He needs one more 3-pointer this season to
pass Anthony Jones (1990-91) and move into the top 10.
• Mackey is also
closing in on the school's top 10 list for career 3-pointers in just two
seasons. Mackey became the 17th player in school history to reach 100 career 3s
on Feb. 16 against Arkansas State. He is 14 3-point makes away from tying Brian
Lubeck (1999-02) for 10th place on ULM's career list.
PREVIEWING UL-LAFAYETTE
• UL-Lafayette enters
the regular-season finale with a record of 7-12 in Sun Belt play. The Ragin'
Cajuns have dropped two straight, including a 77-68 loss at UALR on Thursday in
Little Rock, Ark. ULL is one of the top scoring teams in league, ranking second
with 70.9 points per outing. The Ragin' Cajuns are shooting 42.8 percent from
the field, 33.7 percent from 3-point range and 67.4 percent from the free-throw
line on the season.
• Sophomore Elfrid
Payton leads the team and ranks third in the Sun Belt in scoring (16.1 ppg)
and he leads the conference in assists (5.3 apg), while freshman Shawn Long
ranks fifth in the conference in scoring (15.7 ppg) and second in rebounding
(10.3 rpg). Junior Bryant Mbamalu also chips in 13.7 points per game for
the Ragin' Cajuns.
• Bob Marlin has a
career record of 389-216 in 20 years as a collegiate head coach. He is 41-50 in his third
season with the Ragin' Cajuns. Marlin guided UL-Lafayette to 11 straight
victories and a share of the Sun Belt's West Division title in his first season
in 2010-11. He followed that up by helping the Cajuns to a 16-16 overall record
last season and an appearance in the Collegeinsider.com Tournament.
ULM-UL-LAFAYETTE SERIES
The Ragin' Cajuns own a 47-19 advantage in the all-time
series, including a 90-66 victory in Lafayette earlier this season. ULL has now
won four of the last five meetings and three straight in Monroe. The Warhawks
last victory in Monroe came on Feb. 12, 2009 -- a 73-69 victory. The Ragin'
Cajuns have a slight 16-15 advantage all-time in games played in Monroe.
LAST MEETING AGAINST UL-LAFAYETTE (FEB. 10, 2013)
• UL-Lafayette pulled
away in the second half for a 90-66 victory over ULM on Feb. 10 inside the
Cajundome. The Ragin' Cajuns used a 24-0 run midway through the second half to
turn a 54-50 advantage into 78-50 lead with 7:21 to play.
• The Warhawks shot
46.3 percent (25-of-54) for the game, including 52 percent in the second half,
but had no answer for the UL-Lafayette offensive explosion. ULL shot 52.5
percent (32-of-61) for the game and connected on 10-of-24 attempts from 3-point
range. The Ragin' Cajuns also outscored the Warhawks 16-8 at the free-throw
line.
• Trent Mackey paced
ULM with 20 points, marking the third time this season he has scored at least
20 points in a game. Mackey finished 7-of-11 from the field, including a
blistering 6-of-8 from 3-point range. Mackey has made at least six 3-pointers
in a game twice this season.
• Amos Olatayo scored
in double-digits for the 10th time this season with 15 points on 6-of-15
shooting. Jayon James added nine points, five rebounds and a team-high
six assists.
• UL-Lafayette has won
four of the last five meetings in the series and improved to 29-3 against ULM
at home.
UP NEXT
The Warhawks will compete in the
2013 Sun Belt Conference Tournament March 8-11 in Hot Springs, Ark.
