ULM Faces Road Challenge at SFA

Men's Basketball Dec 14

Game 8: ULM (4-3) vs. SFA (7-2)
Saturday, Dec. 14 | 8 p.m.
Nacogdoches, Texas
William R. Johnson Coliseum (7,203)

2019-20 ULM Basketball Notes: Game 8 vs. SFA

STORYLINE –
After going 2-1 during its recent three-game homestand, ULM (4-3) heads to SFA (7-2) on Saturday, Dec. 14 (8 p.m. tipoff) in search of its first road win of the season. It also marks the Warhawks' final tune-up before opening up Sun Belt Conference play next week in Monroe (vs. Little Rock and Arkansas State).

ULM's starting backcourt of Michael Ertel (17.0 ppg.) and JD Williams (16.9 ppg.) has combined to average 33.9 points per game. The tandem has combined to account for 51 percent of the team's scoring through the first seven games. Ertel and Williams both rank among the Sun Belt Conference's Top 10 in scoring.

THE STARTING FIVE –
• ULM is 30-8 (.789) in games played in Fant-Ewing Coliseum since 2017-18, including an 18-4 record (.818) in its last 22 home games. The Warhawks went 14-3 at home in 2018-19. The 14 home victories matched the second-highest single-season total in school history (six times; previous seasons: 1985-86, 1990-91, 1992-93, 2006-07, 2014-15 and 2018-19). The Warhawks won a single-season record 15 games (15-1) in 1978-79.

• Tuesday's 66-61 setback against Grambling State marked ULM's first regular-season home loss to a non-conference opponent since Nov. 21, 2017, against Northwestern State (76-61), ending a 14-game winning streak.

• ULM ranks among the Sun Belt Conference leaders in 3-point field-goal percentage defense (second at .297), scoring defense (third at 62.3 points per game), field-goal percentage defense (third at .392), blocked shots (fourth at 4.1 per game), rebound margin (fifth at +1.3 pg.) and offensive rebounds (sixth at 10.7 pg.). In addition, the Warhawks are listed among the NCAA Division I leaders in scoring defense (No. 50) and field-goal percentage defense (No. 65).

• Through seven games, ULM hasn't allowed an opposing player to score 20 points. By comparison, the Warhawks have posted five 20-point games (3 by Michael Ertel and 1 each by JD Williams and Jalen Hodge).

• ULM's starting backcourt of Michael Ertel and JD Williams has combined to average 33.9 points per game. The tandem has combined to account for 51 percent of the team's scoring through the first seven games. Ertel (fifth at 17.0 points per game) and Williams (sixth at 16.9 ppg.) both rank among the Sun Belt Conference's Top 5 in scoring.

Ertel also listed among the league's Top 10 in three additional statistical categories: third in minutes played (35.9 pg.), sixth in 3-point field-goal percentage (.372) and seventh in 3-point field goals made (2.3 pg.). The Indianapolis, Indiana, native has scored in double figures in 14 consecutive games, (dating back to last season) including five 20-point outings.

Williams ranks among the Sun Belt's Top 10 in three additional statistical categories: second in minutes played (37.0 per game), ninth in free-throw percentage (.784) and 10th in 3-point field goals made (1.9 pg.). His 37.0 minutes per game rank No. 17 among NCAA Division I players.

SFA SCOUTING REPORT –
SFA, led by fourth-year head coach Kyle Keller, is off to a 7-2 start, including a signature win at top-ranked Duke (85-83) in overtime. The Lumberjacks' non-conference resume also includes a road win at Arkansas State (76-57). SFA is coming off a 78-68 loss at Alabama eight days ago.

Keller welcomes back four lettermen, including three starters, from last year's team that finished 14-16 overall, including a 7-11 record in Southland Conference games. The Lumberjacks were picked fourth in the SLC preseason poll, behind New Orleans, Sam Houston State and Abilene Christian.

SFA's starting lineup features two double-figure scorers, in 6-foot-6 senior guard Kevon Harris (18.3 points per game, 14 3-pointers, 5.3 rebounds pg.) and 6-7 junior forward Gavin Kensmil (12.4 ppg., .638 FG percentage, 7.7 rpg.). Harris leads the SLC in scoring while Kensmil leads the league in double-doubles (4). In addition, junior guard Cameron Johnson (6-4) averages 13.1 points per game off the bench.

SFA leads the SLC in four different statistical categories: scoring offense (83.8 ppg.), scoring margin (+15.2 ppg.), rebound margin (+8.1 pg.) and steals (12.7 pg.). The Lumberjacks also rank among the NCAA Division I Top 30 in steals (No. 1), scoring offense (No. 13), field-goal percentage (No. 18 at .494), offensive rebounds per game (No. 24 at 13.44), rebound margin (No. 26) and scoring margin (No. 27).

ULM/SFA SERIES NOTES –
Saturday's game marks the 54th meeting between ULM and SFA. The Warhawks lead the all-time series 32-21 (.604), including an 11-14 record (.440) in games played in Nacogdoches, Texas. The Lumberjacks have won seven out of the last 11 meetings, with eight of those games decided by nine points or less.

WARHAWKS vs. SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE TEAMS –
The Warhawks have compiled a 361-232 record (.609) against current members of the Southland Conference (1-0 vs. Abilene Christian, 3-1 vs. Central Arkansas, 18-8 vs. Houston Baptist, 24-26 vs. Lamar, 61-56 vs. McNeese, 9-4 vs. New Orleans, 55-17 vs. Nicholls, 75-50 vs. Northwestern State, 19-19 vs. Sam Houston State, 62-30 vs. Southeastern, 32-21 vs. Stephen F. Austin and 2-0 vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi).

ULM faces its second opponent from the Southland Conference this season, in Stephen F. Austin. On Nov. 26, the Warhawks posted a 77-69 victory over Northwestern State in Fant-Ewing Coliseum.

The Warhawks previously competed as a member of the Southland Conference for 24 seasons, from 1982-83 through 2005-06.

THE LAST MEETING –
ULM 74, SFA 58 (Dec. 15, 2018, in Monroe, La.): Michael Ertel and JD Williams combined for 40 points to lead ULM to a 74-58 non-conference victory over Stephen F. Austin in Fant-Ewing Coliseum. The Warhawks led from start to finish.

ULM (5-4) scored the first 11 points of the game and built its largest lead of the game at 23-5 as Williams finished the fast break with an emphatic dunk with 12:01 to play in the opening half. SFA (5-4) put together a 7-0 spurt to cut its deficit to 10 points at 31-21 on Davonte Fitzgerald's 3-pointer from the top of the circle with 4:56 remaining. Behind 16 first-half points from Ertel, the Warhawks enjoyed a 40-27 halftime lead.

ULM shot 48 percent (13-of-27) from the field in the first 20 minutes, including 7-of-17 from 3-point range, while the Lumberjacks went 9-of-33 (27 percent) from the floor, including just 2-of-9 3-pointers.

SFA outscored ULM, 11-3, over the first 4:10 of the second half to pull to within 43-38 on Fitzgerald's 18-foot jumper from just inside the top of the circle. The Lumberjacks closed the margin to four points at 50-46 on a 3-pointer by Shannon Bogues from the left wing with 11:15 left. Back-to-back 3s from Williams and Daishon Smith sparked a 6-0 run as ULM regained control at 61-49 with 7:59 remaining in the game.

Ertel hit 8-of-16 field-goal attempts, including 5-of-9 3-pointers, en route to a game-high 21 points.

Williams scored 12 of his 19 points in the second half and collected a career-high nine rebounds.

ULM also got 14 points and seven assists from Smith.

Three Lumberjacks scored in double figures, led by Bogues who finished with 18 points, followed by Kevon Harris who added 17 and Fitzgerald who tossed in 16.

ULM outscored SFA, 19-12, from the free-throw line, and after being outrebounded, 20-18, in the first half, the Warhawks finished even on the glass, with each team grabbing 35 boards.

THE LAST MEETING IN NACOGDOCHES –
SFA 68, ULM 65 (Dec. 2, 2017, in Nacogdoches, Texas): Aaron Augustin hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Stephen F. Austin a 68-65 win over ULM in William R. Johnson Coliseum. The tightly contested game featured 12 ties and seven lead changes.

Trailing 13-8 in the first half, ULM put together an 11-0 run to turn a five-point deficit into a six-point lead at 19-13 on Marvin Jean-Pierre's 3-pointer with 7:09 left in the opening half. ULM held SFA scoreless during that 5:46 stretch. Jean-Pierre (nine points) and Travis Munnings (eight) combined
for 17 first-half points as the Warhawks held a 31-27 lead at the intermission.

SFA (7-1) opened the second half with an 11-1 spurt and took a 38-32 lead on Leon Gilmore III's jumper in the lane with 16:56 remaining. ULM answered with a 13-1 run of its own and built a 45-36 lead on a trey by Sam McDaniel with 12:00 left. The Lumberjacks responded with a 16-3 spurt and moved out to a 55-48 advantage on TJ Holyfield's 3-pointer with 6:12 to play. The Warhawks scored seven-straight points and pulled even at 57 on a tip-in by Jean-Pierre with 3:25 left.

There were four ties in the final 3:25. Munnings connected on a 3-pointer to tie the game at 65-65 with 25 seconds left. SFA called timeout with 11 seconds remaining to set-up a final shot. Shannon Bogues missed a 3-point attempt from the left wing and the ball was batted back to Augustin, who was standing behind the top of the circle, and he buried the wide open 3-pointer as time expired.

Jean-Pierre led three Warhawks in double-figure scoring with 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field, including 2-of-4 from three-point range. Munnings hit 6-of-11 shots from the floor, including
2-of-3 from behind the three-point arc, and finished with 16 points and a team-high eight rebounds. McDaniel had 14 points and seven rebounds before fouling out with 1:21 left in the game.

ULM (3-4) outrebounded the Lumberjacks, 33-31. The Warhawks connected on 8-of-17 (.471) three-point field-goal attempts, including 5-of-9 (.556) in the second half.

SFA placed five players in double figures, including Holyfield who scored 14 of his game-high 24 points in the second half. Holyfield hit 8-of-9 field-goal attempts, including 4-of-5 from three-point range. Gilmore netted 10 of his 11 points in the second half. The Lumberjacks outscored ULM in the paint, 26-16.

THE LAST TIME OUT –
Grambling State 66, ULM 61 (Dec. 10, 2019, in Monroe, La.): Ivy Smith Jr. scored 10 of his team-high 15 points in the second half to lead Grambling State to a 66-61 victory over ULM Tuesday night in Fant-Ewing Coliseum as the Tigers ended an eight-game losing streak in the series. Grambling's last win in the series came 36 years ago to the day – Dec. 10, 1983 – 81-66 in Memorial Gymnasium.

It also marked ULM's first regular-season home loss to a non-conference opponent since Nov. 21, 2017, against Northwestern State (76-61), ending a 14-game winning streak.

There were five lead changes and four ties in a tightly contested game as neither team managed to build a double-digit advantage.

A steal and layup by Jalen Hodge gave ULM a 9-6 lead with 14:02 left in the first half. Grambling (5-5) answered with an 18-8 run and took a 24-17 advantage on DeVante Jackson's fall-away jumper in the lane with 5:44 to play in the opening half. Chris Efretuei's layup sparked a 10-2 run as ULM regained the lead at 27-26 as Michael Ertel buried a 3-pointer in transition from the left wing with 3:24 on the clock. Behind a career-high 13 points from Hodge in the first half, the Warhawks enjoyed a 32-31 lead at the intermission.

ULM (4-3) opened the second half with a 10-4 spurt and Hodge's 3-pointer from the left wing gave the Warhawks' their biggest lead at 42-35 with 17:10 on the clock. Grambling responded with a 10-3 run and pulled even at 45-45 on a pair of free throws from Kelton Edwards with 13:59 remaining in the game. Hodge connected on his third 3 of the second half – this one from the left corner – to give ULM a 48-45 advantage with 13:13 left. The Tigers put together a 13-2 run and built their largest lead at 58-50 on Smith's layup with 7:24 to play. The Warhawks, who went scoreless for nearly six minutes in the second half, made 1-of-8 field-goal attempts and committed five turnovers during a stretch of 8:16.

A hook shot by Tyree White fueled an 11-4 spurt as ULM cut its deficit to one at 62-61 on JD Williams' drive down the lane for a layup with 1:26 remaining. Grambling iced the game as Smith converted a runner in the lane with 54 seconds left and Trevell Cunningham stole an inbounds pass in front of the ULM bench and closed out the scoring with a layup with 33 seconds to play.

The Tigers outrebounded ULM, 36-28, including 13 offensive boards. Grambling outscored the Warhawks, 18-9, in second-chance points and 38-20 in the paint. The Tigers also converted ULM's 16 turnovers into 20 points.

Grambling also got 12 points from Jackson and 11 second-half points from Edwards.

Three Warhawks scored in double figures, led by Hodge, who hit 7-of-11 shots from the field including 5-of-6 3-pointers, and finished with a game-high 22 points. Williams contributed 13 points and seven rebounds while Ertel added 10.

ULM RECORDS 1,000TH WIN IN PROGRAM HISTORY –
With its 73-72 overtime win over Alcorn State Saturday, ULM recorded its 1,000th victory in program history since beginning competition as a four-year institution in 1951-52 (69th season). Keith Richard's 116 career victories at ULM rank third on the all-time list, trailing only Mike Vining (402; 1981-05) and Lenny Fant (326; 1957-79). That trio has accounted for 844 of ULM's 1,002 all-time wins as a four-year institution.

WARHAWKS DOMINATE THE GLASS IN SEASON OPENER –
ULM outrebounded NCAA Division III Louisiana College, 57-24, in the season opener. The +33 rebound margin is tied for the ninth-best mark recorded during the 2019-20 season. UMKC outrebounded Bacone College by +41, 56-15, on Nov. 18.

ULM LOOKS TO EXTEND POSTSEASON TOURNAMENT STREAK –
ULM made its 13th postseason appearance in program history in 2019. It marked the Warhawks' fourth trip to postseason play in the last five years, including their third appearance in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament. ULM knocked off Kent State, 87-77, the first round of the 2019 CIT before falling to Texas State in triple overtime, 108-102, in the quarterfinals.

WARHAWK STAT LEADERS –
Double-figure scoring games (19): JD Williams 7, Michael Ertel 7, Jalen Hodge 2, Youry White 1, Chris Efretuei 1, Tyree White 1. Opponents: 18.

20-point games (5): Michael Ertel 3, JD Williams 1, Jalen Hodge. Opponents: None.

30-point games (0): None. Opponents: None.

40-point games (0): None. Opponents: None.

Double-figure rebounding games (1): D'Andre Bernard 1. Opponents: 2.

Double-doubles (0): None. Opponents: 1.

Games leading ULM in scoring: JD Williams 3, Michael Ertel 3, Jalen Hodge 1.

Games leading ULM in rebounding: D'Andre Bernard 2, Chris Efretuei 2, Tyree White 1, Michael Ertel 1, Youry White 1, JD Williams 1.

Games leading ULM in assists: Michael Ertel 4, JD Williams 3, Tyree White 1 Jalen Hodge 1, Erie Olonade 1.

2019-20 ULM STARTING LINEUPS –
Different Starting Combinations (2):
Ertel, Williams, T. White, Y. White, Efretuei: 6 games (4-2)
Ertel, Williams, T. White, Bernard, Efretuei: 1 game (0-1)

2019-20 WARHAWK STATISTICAL TRENDS –
Games played in Fant-Ewing Coliseum: 4-1
Games played on the road: 0-2
Games played at a neutral site: 0-0

Games played in November: 3-2
Games played in December: 1-1
Games played in January: 0-0
Games played in February: 0-0
Games played in March: 0-0

When leading at halftime: 4-2
When trailing at halftime: 0-1
When tied at halftime: 0-0

When shooting .500 or better from the field: 1-0
When shooting less than .500 from the field: 3-3
When opponent shoots .500 or better from the field: 0-0
When opponent shoots less than .500 from the floor: 4-3

When outrebounding opponent: 1-1
When outrebounded by opponent: 2-2
When rebounding totals are equal: 1-0

When hitting more free throws than opponent: 4-1
When hitting fewer free throws than opponent: 0-2
When hitting the same number of free throws as opponent: 0-0

When committing fewer turnovers than opponent: 1-0
When opponent commits fewer turnovers: 2-3
When turnover totals are equal: 1-0

When ULM scores less than 50 points: 0-1
When ULM scores 50-59 points: 0-1
When ULM scores 60-69 points: 1-1
When ULM scores 70-79 points: 2-0
When ULM scores 80-89 points: 1-0
When ULM scores 90-99 points: 0-0

When opponent scores less than 50 points: 1-0
When opponent scores 50-59 points: 0-0
When opponent scores 60-69 points: 2-3
When opponent scores 70-79 points: 1-0
When opponent scores 80-89 points: 0-0
When opponent scores 90-99 points: 0-0

Games decided by five points or less: 1-1
Games decided by 6-10 points: 1-1
Games decided by 11-19 points: 0-1
Games decided by 20 points or more: 2-0

Last five games: 2-3
Last 10 games: ----

Largest deficit overcome to win: 4 (7-3 vs. Alcorn State, Nov. 9; 31-27 vs. Millsaps College, Dec. 4)
Largest lead surrendered in a loss: 10 (34-24 at Texas A&M, Nov. 11)

UPCOMING HOLIDAY PROMOTIONS –
Buy One, Get One Free (BOGO)
Thursday, Dec. 19 vs. Little Rock (7 p.m. tipoff)
Purchase a courtside-riser seat ($20), reserved seat ($15) or general admission ($10) ticket and receive a second one of the same value for free to the Dec. 19 Sun Belt Conference opener against Little Rock.

Youth Day
Saturday, Dec. 21 vs. Arkansas State (2 p.m. tipoff)
Youth 18 and under will receive a free general admission ticket to the Dec. 21 Sun Belt Conference game against Arkansas State. Following the game, children 12 and under will be permitted on the court to shoot baskets for 30 minutes.

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