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ULM Faces Champion Christian in Home Opener

ULM Faces Champion Christian in Home Opener

Men's Basketball Nov 16
Game 3: Champion Christian (1-3, 0-0 SW) vs. ULM (0-2, 0-0 SBC)
Tuesday, Nov. 16 | 6:30 p.m. CT
Fant-Ewing Coliseum (7,000) | Monroe, La.
ESPN + | KLIP 105.3 FM
 
2021-22 ULM Basketball Notes: Game 3 vs. Champion Christian
 
THE STORYLINE –
ULM welcomes its fans and Champion Christian for its 2021-22 home opener Tuesday night. The Warhawks are 8-3 (.727) in home openers under head coach Keith Richard, including seven wins in the last eight games.
 
Senior G/F Russell Harrison made his Fant-Ewing Coliseum debut last season with a career-best 22-point, nine-rebound outing.
 
The Warhawks begin their 51st season at Fant-Ewing Coliseum with an all-time record of 461-204 (.693 winning percentage). ULM coach Keith Richard has posted 86 home wins, including a perfect 13-0 mark in 2015-16.
 
The second meeting between ULM and Champion Christian lands the Tigers as opponent for the home opener for a second time. In the first game, ULM posted several stat totals that were season-high marks for 2014-15.
 
THE STARTING FIVE –
•  The Warhawks have won eight home openers under the tutelage of head coach Keith Richard, including seven of the last eight games. This is the first time in his tenure ULM will play a previous opponent to open the home campaign at Fant-Ewing Coliseum. ULM topped the Champion Christian Tigers, previously known as Champion Baptist, 106-39, on Nov. 17, 2014.
 
 • ULM has scored 100 or more points in 82 games in its program history with a 76-5 mark in those contests (.938 winning percentage). The last time the Warhawks scored 100 points in a regular-season game was in a 104-46 victory over Rust (11/26/17).
 
•  Senior Russell Harrison scored his career-best 22 points in the 2020-21 home opener vs. Lamar and narrowly missed a double-double with nine rebounds. It was Harrison's first 20-point game for ULM. The last three-straight home openers have witnessed at least one Warhawk scoring 20 or more points. Amos Olatayo scored at least 20 points in two home openers: 21 points in the 2012-13 opener (vs. Western Kentucky, 11/29/12) and 22 the next season vs. Samford (11/18/13).
 
•  ULM registered 32 points in the paint at No. 22 Auburn, most of the young season, to date, and most since a Feb. 13, 2021, game vs. the Ragin' Cajuns when the Warhawks had 34.
 
•  Tuesday's home opener vs. Champion Christian at Fant-Ewing Coliseum is the only home game in November. ULM returns home on Dec. 1, the 50th anniversary of the first game in Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
  
INSIDE THE NUMBERS –
2 — Warhawk head coach Keith Richard promised he would observe his team and employ different starting combinations. With two games early this season, he's used two different starting lineups so far.
 
9 — ULM held No. 22 Auburn to only nine first-half field goals and a .360 field-goal percentage to help the Warhawks to a 39-37 halftime advantage on the road. ULM had a 19-18 rebound advantage at the break and had only four turnovers to the Tigers' six before heading into the locker room.
 
100% — Freshman forward Thomas Howell, who made his second-straight start at No. 22 Auburn, was perfect from the field with a 4-4 mark and was 1-1 from the free-throw line.
 
1,232 — Dedicated 50 years ago with its first game on Dec. 1, 1971, fans have witnessed 1,232 Warhawk basketball games heading into Tuesday night's home game (665 men's games, 567 women's games) at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
 
3,469 — Total number of career points scored by now-Warhawks Reginald Gee, Andre Jones and Koreem Ozier. Jones added his name to the list of 1,000-point scorers Nov. 9 at LSU and stands at 1,008. Ozier eclipsed the mark in 2020-21 and has 1,061 to date. Gee, who reached the 1,000-point mark in his third season at Alabama State, currently has 1,400 career points.
 
HOME OPENERS UNDER RICHARD –
The Warhawks are 8-3 (.727) in home openers under head coach Keith Richard, including seven wins in the last eight games.
 
CHAMPION CHRISTIAN SCOUTING REPORT –
Head Coach: Matthias "Mo" Capaci (Champion Christian, 2013)
Record at Champion Christian/Career Record: 8-11 (second year)
Mo Capaci's Record vs. ULM: First meeting
Tigers' top scorer: Junior F Braylon Hawkins (21.3 ppg.)
Tigers' top rebounders: Junior F Braylon Hawkins (11.5 rpg.)
 
Tuesday night's game will be the fourth-straight exhibition game for Champion Christian after starting its season with a 1-3 record. Junior forward Braylon Hawkins led the Tigers with 20 points and 10 rebounds in an exhibition game loss (115-51) at Little Rock last Friday. The Tigers committed 31 turnovers and shot 36 percent from the field for the game. The Trojans dominated with 66 points in the paint and a 51-26 rebounding advantage. Nearly one-third of Little Rock's points (43) came off Tiger turnovers.
 
In the Tigers' four games on its regular schedule, Hawkins has a 21.3 points-per-game average with his third double-double of the season with season-high totals in points (27) and rebounds (17) in a 93-75 loss at Oklahoma City on Nov. 6. Champion Christian resumes its regular season with a Thursday, Nov. 18 trip to Oklahoma Christian.
 
Champion Christian head coach Mo Capaci was a four-year player and All-American for the Tigers, and is the only player in Champion program history to accumulate over 1,800 points, 600 assists and 250 steals with his assists and steals marks standing as school records.
 
Champion Christian, previously known as Champion Baptist, was coached by Eric Capaci, Coach "Mo" Capaci's father. Ezekial "Zo" Capaci is Coach Mo's younger brother.
 
ULM/CHAMPION CHRISTIAN SERIES NOTES –
Tuesday's contest is the second all-time between ULM and Champion Christian and the Warhawks set multiple records in the first meeting, a 106-39 win in Fant-Ewing Coliseum, on Nov. 18, 2014. The Tigers also opened ULM's home season in 2014-15.
 
The 67-point margin of victory in that game broke ULM's previous school record of 63 over LeTourneau (ULM 100, LT 37, 11/25/1991). The game featured stats that ranked as the season best in eight categories including: points (106), field goals made (41), rebounds (48), assists (21), blocked shots (10) and steals (14). ULM had 21 assists on 41 field goals made and finished the game with a .594 field-goal percentage.
 
THE LAST MEETING –
ULM 106, CHAMPION CHRISTIAN 39 (Nov. 18, 2014, in Monroe, La.): In the 2014-15 home opener at Fant-Ewing Coliseum, the ULM men's basketball program broke the school record for largest margin of victory in a 106-39 decision over Champion Christian. ULM scored 53 points in each half and all 11 student-athletes who entered the game scored at least three points and grabbed a rebound. Jamaal Samuel led the charge with a career-high 18 points and also pulled down six rebounds.
 
Samuel was one of four Warhawks to reach double figures along with senior Tylor Ongwae (16), junior Mack Foster (13) and senior Marvin Williams (11).
 
The Warhawks jumped out to an early 14-4 lead as Ongwae tallied eight points in the first four minutes. After Champion Christian hit a three-pointer, ULM used an 8-0 run to go up 22-7 near the midway mark of the first half and also scored the final 12 points in the first half to go into the intermission ahead, 53-18. The Warhawks shot an astounding 65 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes.
 
Opening the second half on a 17-2 run in the first 4:11, the Warhawks extended their lead to 91-30 with about eight minutes left in the game. A three-pointer by Foster broke the 100-point plateau for the Warhawks with 2:39 to go.
 
DeMondre Harvey led ULM in rebounds with 9. As a team, ULM outrebounded the Tigers, 48-21.
 
Cody Connor scored a team-high nine points for Champion Christian.
 
LAST TIME OUT –
No. 22 AUBURN 93, ULM 65 (Nov. 12, 2021, in Auburn, Ala.): Freshman Jabari Smith recorded his first career double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds to lead No. 22 Auburn to a 93-65 victory over ULM Friday, Nov. 12 before a capacity crowd of 9,121 in Auburn Arena.
 
There were four lead changes and two ties in a tightly contested first half.
 
Auburn (2-0) used an early 9-0 run to take a 13-5 lead on Wendell Green Jr.'s layup with 14:30 remaining in the opening half. The Warhawks answered with an 8-1 run and pulled to within 14-13 on a fast-break layup by Thomas Howell with 11:00 left. Trailing 17-13, Trey Boston's layup sparked a 13-1 spurt as ULM built an eight-point lead on Russell Harrison's 3-pointer from the left wing with 6:00 to go. K.D. Johnson converted four-straight free throws as the Tigers cut their deficit to 26-22 with 5:04 on the clock. The Warhawks regained their eight-point advantage at 32-24 after Andre Jones drove the left side of the lane for a layup with 3:36 to play. Auburn went 5:36 between field goals during that stretch while hitting just 1-of-11 shots from the field. Smith outscored ULM, 8-2, as the Tigers rallied to within 34-32 on his 3 from the top of the circle with 2:17 remaining. The Warhawks got two free throws from Jones and a traditional three-point play from Luke Phillips to push the lead back to 39-32 with 1:11 left. Green hit 5-of-6 free-throw attempts in the final minute for Auburn as ULM took a 39-37 lead into the locker room at the intermission.
 
ULM (0-2) limited Auburn to 9-of-25 field-goal shooting (36 percent) in the first half and outrebounded the Tigers, 19-18. The Warhawks led for nearly 10-and-a-half minutes in the opening half.
 
Boston opened the second half with a steal and a layup as ULM took a 41-37 lead. A rebound basket by Smith fueled a 7-0 run as Auburn grabbed a 44-41 lead on Johnson's 3-pointer out of the left corner off a Warhawk turnover with 16:42 left in the game. ULM managed to pull to within two points twice early in the second half – the last time at 47-45 with 14:57 on the clock. Auburn answered by reeling off 10-straight points, and Chris Moore's traditional three-point play gave the Tigers a 55-45 advantage with 13:25 to go. The Tigers broke the game open with an 11-1 run midway through the second half as Johnson's 3-pointer extended their lead to 72-52 with 7:08 remaining. During that decisive stretch, ULM went three-and-a-half minutes without a field goal and committed five turnovers while Auburn connected on seven consecutive field-goal attempts. Chandler Leopard's 3-pointer with 40 seconds left accounted for the final margin, 93-65.
 
Auburn outscored the Warhawks, 56-26, in the second half. The Tigers made 20-of-35 shots from the floor (57 percent), including 6-of-13 3s (46 percent), and parlayed ULM's 12 second-half turnovers into 14 points. Auburn also outrebounded the Warhawks, 21-11, over the final 20 minutes.
 
Smith hit 7-of-12 field-goal attempts, including 3-of-5 from behind the 3-point arc, and finished with a game-high 23 points. He added two assists, two blocks and four steals in 29 minutes played.
 
Overall, Auburn placed four scorers in double figures, with Johnson netting 18 points, Moore 16 and Green 15. Moore scored 14 of his career-high 16 points during the Tigers' second-half surge.
 
Boston paced the Warhawks with 16 points, hitting 7-of-9 shots from the field including 1-of-2 3s. ULM also got nine points each from Howell, who went a perfect 4-for-4 from the floor, and Elijah Gonzales. Nika Metskhvarishvili contributed eight points, seven rebounds and three blocks off the bench.
 
2021-22 ULM STARTING LINEUPS –
Nov. 9 at LSU: Gonzales, Jones, Gee, Harrison, Howell
Nov. 12 at Auburn: Gonzales, Boston, Gee, Harrison, Howell
                                      
Different Starting Combinations (2):
Gonzales, Jones, Gee, Harrison, Howell: 1 (0-1)
Gonzales, Boston, Gee, Harrison, Howell: 1 (0-1)
 
2021-22 WARHAWK STATISTICAL TRENDS –
Games played in Fant-Ewing Coliseum: 0-0
Games played on the road: 0-2
Games played at a neutral site: 0-0                        
 
Games played in November: 0-2
Games played in December: 0-0
Games played in January: 0-0
Games played in February: 0-0
Games played in March: 0-0                                    
 
When leading at halftime: 0-1
When trailing at halftime: 0-1
When tied at halftime: 0-0
 
When shooting .500 or better from the field: 0-0
When shooting less than .500 from the field: 0-2
When opponent shoots .500 or better from the field: 0-1
When opponent shoots less than .500 from the floor: 0-1
 
When outrebounding opponent: 0-0
When outrebounded by opponent: 0-2
When rebounding totals are equal: 0-0
 
When hitting more free throws than opponent: 0-0
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: 0-0                         
When opponent commits fewer turnovers: 0-2
When turnover totals are equal: 0-0
 
When ULM scores less than 50 points: 0-1           
When ULM scores 50-59 points: 0-0
When ULM scores 60-69 points: 0-1
When ULM scores 70-79 points: 0-0
When ULM scores 80-89 points: 0-0
When ULM scores 90-99 points: 0-0
 
When opponent scores less than 50 points: 0-0  
When opponent scores 50-59 points: 0-0
When opponent scores 60-69 points: 0-0
When opponent scores 70-79 points: 0-0
When opponent scores 80-89 points: 0-0
When opponent scores 90+ points: 0-2
 
Games decided by five points or less: 0-0
Games decided by 6-10 points: 0-0
Games decided by 11-19 points: 0-0
Games decided by 20 points or more: 0-2
 
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