By Paul Letlow, ULMWarhawks.com Online Columnist

MONROE, La. - Michael Ertel crossed the threshold on 1,000 career points Tuesday night in ULM's 77-69 win over Northwestern State.

The junior guard entered the contest 18 points short of the milestone and had 13 by halftime at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.

"I thought he was really good in the first half," ULM coach Keith Richard said. "He got the three ball going there early when we were sputtering a little bit. Mike has been a good player and continues to be a good player. I'm not surprised he got 1,000 points this quick and I hope he gets to 2,000 real quick too."

Ertel's layup with 15:33 left in the game gave him 1,000 points even. Ertel finished with 22 points and made four 3-pointers as ULM improved to 3-2.

"It was nice," said Ertel, the 38th member of ULM's 1,000-point club. "I knew all season I was close. Now that I finally got it, it's nice. A weight lifted off my shoulders."

Playing their first game in 12 days, the Warhawks found their stroke early with a season-high nine 3-pointers. However, eight of those came in the first half.  

ULM successfully deployed a three-guard attack for much of the game that aided ball security (16 assists to seven turnovers) and free throw shooting (18-of-22).

"Our 3-point shooting has been so bad, we were hoping with the extra guard we could get some more 3-point shooting and we did," Richard said.

Jalen Hodge provided the scoring punch off the bench, as he hit three 3-pointers on his way to a career-high 12 points.

"It's something we worked on in practice," Hodge said. "Today I was able to take some pressure off J.D. (Williams) and Mike. I got some open looks and I took them."

"I thought he did an excellent job in the game," Richard said.

After a scoreless first half, J.D. Williams finished with 17 points and five assists. Williams hit 9-of-11 free throws.  

"J.D. kind of got going right at the right moment," Richard said. "And of course, he hit free throws. He had a good night."

ULM finished the first half on a 7-2 run and led 38-29 at halftime. ULM had 10 assists on 14 field goals in the half.

"Except for the last five minutes of the game, it was really a good offensive performance," Richard said.

ULM led by as many as 18 in the second half but Northwestern cut the advantage to single digits at 68-59 with 2:06 remaining in the game. The Warhawks endured a scoring drought as the Demons used a 9-0 run to cut the lead to 68-62 with 35 seconds left.

Williams made a pair of free throws before Brian White's 3-pointer cut the ULM advantage to 70-65 with 28 seconds showing. The Demons could get no closer than five points though, despite ULM not hitting a field goal over the final 4:27.

"I have to remind myself daily that this is not the same team as last year," Richard said. "We're going to be doing things possibly different than last year, both on the offensive and defensive end, which is fine. We're just trying to figure out how to be a good team."

Up next: In the midst of a three-game home stand, ULM plays host to Millsaps on Dec. 4 at 7 p.m. The Warhawks will then meet Grambling State on Dec. 10 at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.  

Tail feathers:  ULM improved to 75-40 in the all-time series vs. Northwestern State. … Hodge's 3-pointer with 13:10 remaining in the first half was his first this season. He added a second 3-pointer at the 10:48 mark and a third with 2:28 showing in the half as he reached a career high in points.  His previous high was six points… Erie Olonade's 3-pointer with 4:44 remaining in the first half was his first bucket as a Warhawk.  … ULM improved to 3-0 at home this year. … Northwestern State guard C.J. Jones is the son of former ULM guard Casey Jones.