Thomas Howell layup vs Northwestern State 2021-22
Luke Richard/ULM Athletics
66
Northwestern St. NW 1-5,0-0 Southland
96
Winner La.-Monroe ULM 2-2,0-0 Sun Belt
Northwestern St. NW
1-5,0-0 Southland
66
Final
96
La.-Monroe ULM
2-2,0-0 Sun Belt
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Northwestern St. NW 29 37 66
La.-Monroe ULM 50 46 96

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Six Warhawks Reach Double Figures in 96-66 Win Over Northwestern State

ULM shot season-best 56.5 percent from field and forced 25 Demon turnovers.

RUSTON, La. – Six ULM basketball players scored in double figures for the second-straight game en route to a 96-66 win over Northwestern State Monday afternoon. The Warhawks (2-2) topped NSU (1-5) in their first game of the Lanky Wells Memorial Classic in Ruston, Louisiana, as sophomores Trey Boston and Nika Metskhvarishvili and junior Koreem Ozier shared game-high scoring honors with 15 points each. Freshman forward Thomas Howell recorded his first career double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds, both career highs.
 
The Warhawks turned in another exceptional team effort, overwhelming the Demons with a season-best 56.5 percent shooting from the field with 24 assists on 35 baskets. Junior guard Elijah Gonzales directed the Warhawk offense and tied his career best with 10 assists along with six points and three of the team's 15 steals. Northwestern State shot only 41 percent from the field with several unproductive stretches and was hampered by 25 turnovers and foul trouble for three of its top four scorers.
 
"We played really well in the first half," ULM head coach Keith Richard said. "The same kind of M.O. that when we played well so far this year, (we had) an aggressive, active defense, that will cause some havoc a little bit within the half court and man to man, not turning the ball over on offense, only five turnovers in the first half. We got a little sideways on some rebounding defensively, but we corrected it, and we stopped it, and the defense turned into transition offensive points. That had a lot to do with putting 50 points on the scoreboard in the first half."
 
Boston and Metskhvarishvili combined for 30 of ULM's 42 points off the bench. Metskhvarishvili added six rebounds, one shy of his career best, to his game totals. Graduate guards Andre Jones and Reginald Gee finished with 13 and 10 points, respectively, and each had three assists. ULM had 52 points in the paint and split its six 3-pointers with three in each half.
 
"I thought our guys did a good job of listening to what we wanted to do in this game on the offensive end, we wanted to get inside and we wanted to have a lot of layups, and we did," Richard said. "The guys came off the bench and kind of did the same thing. We had a few threes in the first half, but we only shot seven in the first half, so that tells me they're listening. We're making a little progress. I'm not saying we're there, but we're making some progress in the listening aspect. Again, an outstanding first half."
 
ULM, up 50-29 at halftime, picked up in the second half right where it ended the first. ULM connected on its first three attempts from the floor and extended its lead to 57-32 on Ozier's first 3-pointer of the season. Ozier scored all 15 of his points in the second period and tied his career best with four steals. The Warhawks led by as many as 33, benefitting from four of six made baskets to end the game after a stretch of four-straight made buckets earlier to go up by 29.
 
The Warhawks bolstered their lead in the first half with six-straight made field goals and closed the half 8-of-10 from the floor. Northwestern State went without a field goal for 8:37 until the Demons' only 3-pointer of the first period came after Larry Owens stole the ball and tossed up a 30-foot desperation shot as the clock hit zero.
 
"Defensively, Andre Jones and Elijah Gonzales were all over the court in the first half," Richard said. "They were helping, they were stealing and they were stabbing and they were staying in front of the ball, doing a lot."
 
The first seven minutes of the game saw five ties and two lead changes before the Warhawks took the lead for good on Metskhvarishvili's second layup for a 14-12 score. Back-to-back baskets by Howell put ULM up by double figures before NSU cut the lead to nine with 6:14 to play in the first half. Six different Warhawks scored in a 17-5 run over five minutes to extend the lead to 41-24.
 
Cedric Garrett fouled out of the game, but had the top point total for NSU with 13. Kendal Coleman scored eight of his 10 points in the second half and pulled down six rebounds.
 
The Warhawks return to action with their second game of the Lanky Wells (memorial) Classic on Wednesday, Nov. 24 against LA Tech, with a 6:30 p.m. tipoff.
 

 
 
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