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ULM Faces Northwestern State in Monday Matinee

ULM Faces Northwestern State in Monday Matinee

Men's Basketball Nov 22
Game 4: Northwestern State (1-4, 0-0 SLC) vs. ULM (1-2, 0-0 SBC)
Lanky Wells Memorial Classic
Monday, Nov. 22 | 2 p.m. CT
Thomas Assembly Center (8,000) | Ruston, La.
KLIP 105.3 FM
 
2021-22 ULM Basketball Notes: Game 4 vs. Northwestern State
 
THE STORYLINE –
ULM goes back on the road, but remains in its home state with two games this holiday week in the Lanky Wells Memorial Classic in Ruston, La. The Warhawks play Northwestern State Monday and then face LA Tech Wednesday.
 
Last season's contest at Northwestern State required OT for the final decision. ULM forward Luke Phillips contributed to the win with eight of his 11 total points coming in the extra period.
 
The Warhawks opened their 2020-21 season on the road against these same two teams with LA Tech first (L, 62-78) and then Northwestern State (W, 92-83 OT).
 
ULM and Northwestern State continue the series for the eighth-straight season as non-conference opponents. The two teams did not meet from 2006-2011 after nearly two decades as Southland Conference foes.
 
THE STARTING FIVE –
•  Of the last five games against Northwestern State played away from Fant-Ewing Coliseum, ULM has won four, with all four victories coming at Prather Coliseum. The last neutral site game, played in Bossier City, went to NSU, 68-64, on Dec. 12, 2016.
 
•  Three different players appear in the Warhawks' top scoring column in as many games this season with graduate guard Andre Jones adding his name to the list with his 17 points in the 114-59 win over Champion Christian. Trey Boston had 16 at No. 22 Auburn and Thomas Howell had eight at LSU in the opener. The first three different leading scorers in 2020-21 occurred by game five: Russell Harrison, Koreem Ozier and Howell.
 
•  The Warhawks have compiled a 283-165 record (.632) against current members of the Southland Conference with the 76 wins against Northwestern State the highest win total among the current membership. In 2020-21, ULM went 2-1 in games against Southland Conference opponents, with a 92-83 overtime victory at Northwestern State (Dec. 6, 2020), a 63-60 loss to Lamar (Dec. 8, 2020) in Fant-Ewing Coliseum and a 66-55 win over SFA in Monroe. The Warhawks previously competed as a member of the Southland Conference for 24 seasons, from 1982-83 through 2005-06.
 
•  The Warhawks' and Demons' rosters include players from the same hometowns as ULM freshman F Thomas Howell and Northwestern State junior G Brian White both hail from Natchitoches, La., and ULM freshman forward Nika Metskhvarishvili and Demon sophomore F Zurabi Zhgenti call Tbilisi, Georgia, home.
 
•  After this week's trips to Ruston, the Warhawks play at SMU on Sunday, Nov. 28. ULM opens the month of December with three consecutive games back at home in Fant-Ewing Coliseum, beginning with Centenary on Dec. 1.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS –
4 — According to kenpom.com, ULM has the fourth-toughest strength of schedule in 2020-21, with a rating of 23.00. ESPN.com ranks the Warhawks' SOS at No. 20.
 
5 — Led by sophomore guard Trey Boston with a field-goal percentage of .609 (14-23), five Warhawks are connecting at a mark above 50 percent through three games: Boston (.609), Powell (.600), Jones (.571), Phillips (.556) and Howell (.529).
 
39.6 —  So far in 2021-22, ULM is outscoring its opponents in the first half, averaging 39.6 points in the first 20 minutes of its games. The Warhawks led No. 22 Auburn at the break, 39-37, at Auburn Arena and had 60 points in the first half vs. Champion Christian in the home opener.
 
68 — The Warhawks had 68 points in the paint vs. Champion Christian, connecting on 34 of their 50 attempts (68 percent) in that area.  
 
81.8 — During ULM's 27-2 first-half run in the victory over Champion Christian, it was 9-of-11 (81.8 percent) from the field, including the Warhawks' leading scorer Trey Boston going a perfect 3-for-3 from behind the 3-point line. Six different players scored during that run.
 
NSU SCOUTING REPORT –
Head Coach: Mike McConathy (Louisiana Tech, 1977)
Record at Northwestern State/Division I Career Record: 322-358 (23rd season)
McConathy's Record vs. ULM: 11-9
Demons' top scorer & rebounder: Freshman C Kendal Coleman (18.0 ppg, 7.8 rpg)
 
Senior center Larry Owens, a product of Monroe, Louisiana, scored a game-high 19 points off the bench for Northwestern State vs. LA Tech, but the Demons couldn't dig out of a 20-point first-half deficit Friday night, falling 83-64. Freshman center Kendal Coleman was one rebound short of a double-double with nine boards to go along with his 10 points. Senior guard LaTerrance Reed, back in the starting lineup, had 10 points and four assists.
 
Freshman center Kendal Coleman didn't lead the Demons in scoring in any games in 2020-21, but topped Northwestern State's rebounding charts 12 times. Coleman had five games with double-figure scoring totals and five games with 10 or more rebounds with his only double-double (18 pts., 15 rebounds) coming in the ULM overtime game.
 
ULM and Northwestern State will play twice during the non-conference portion of the 2021-22 season with the second game scheduled for Dec. 4 at Fant-Ewing Coliseum. The Warhawks and Demons share five common opponents: LA Tech (L, 64-83, first game of Lanky Wells Memorial Classic), SMU (L, 48-95), Champion Christian (W, 91-62), Stephen F. Austin (Nov. 28) and LSU (Dec. 14).
 
Demons' bench boss Mike McConathy is the winningest coach in Louisiana college basketball history with 322 wins at Northwestern State and more than 350 wins during his 16-year tenure as head coach at Bossier Parish Community College.
 
ULM/NORTHWESTERN STATE SERIES NOTES –
ULM has a 76-50 advantage in the series vs. Northwestern State, winning the last three consecutive contests, and six of the last eight meetings. The 2020-21 game was the second-straight overtime away win for the Warhawks in the series. The Warhawks' 92 points in the 2020-21 win marked the highest scoring total for ULM vs. the Demons since a 96-83 Fant-Ewing Coliseum victory during the 2001-02 season when the two teams matched up as Southland Conference foes.
 
Keith Richard is 6-3 in nine games as ULM head coach against NSU. NSU's last win in the series came on Nov. 21, 2017, 76-61 in Monroe, while the Demons also took the last neutral site meeting, 68-64, on Dec. 12, 2016, in Bossier City, La.
 
THE LAST TIME –
ULM 92, NORTHWESTERN STATE 83 OT (Dec. 6, 2020, in Natchitoches, La.):
Koreem Ozier scored 10 second-half points and Luke Phillips accounted for eight of ULM's 16 points in overtime to help lift the Warhawks to the 92-83 victory at Northwestern State. ULM closed out the overtime period with a 9-0 run after 14 lead changes and 13 ties in a tightly contested game as neither team managed to build a double-digit advantage.
 
Four ULM players scored in double figures, led by Ozier, who finished with 16 points, nine rebounds and five assists. The Warhawks also got 13 points from Morency, 12 from Howell and 11 each from Harrison and Phillips.
 
Northwestern State led by as many as seven points in the first seven minutes of the game before a 10-3 ULM 10-3 tied the game at 26-all. NSU took a 39-38 lead into the intermission.
 
A layup by Elijah Gonzales sparked a 7-2 run by ULM and a tip-in by Josh Nicholas tied the score at 51-all with midway through second half. Ozier scored six points and recorded three assists during a 12-4 spurt as the Warhawks built a 72-65 lead on Marco Morency's dunk with 1:33 remaining in regulation. Gonzales converted two free throws with :34 left on the clock for a ULM 76-69 lead.
 
The Demons' Jairus Roberson pulled NSU back to within 76-72 with :24 left by hitting three-straight free throws. After two missed free throws by the Warhawks, Roberson completed a four-point play, burying a 3 from the left wing and hitting the free throw after Russell Harrison committed his fifth foul on the closeout, to tie the game at 76-all with 17.6 seconds left in regulation. ULM had a chance to win the game in regulation, but a contested layup bounced off the rim at the buzzer.
 
The Demons opened the scoring in overtime for an NSU 78-76 lead – its first since 61-60. There were four lead changes and two ties in the first 2:31 of the extra period. ULM outscored NSU, 9-0, over the next 2:29 to secure the season-opening win and took the lead for good at 85-83 on Phillips' layup with 2:10 on the clock. Morency made a jumper from the free-throw line, Phillips followed with a 3-pointer from the right corner – his second 3 in overtime – and Ozier hit a pair of free throws to complete the scoring.
 
The Warhawks 5-of-7 shots (71 percent) from the floor in overtime. ULM outscored the Demons, 30-14, from the free-throw line and finished even on the glass, with the teams finishing with 47 rebounds each. The Warhawks scored 22 points off NSU's 14 turnovers.
 
Roberson made a career-high six 3-pointers en route to a game-high 22 points to pace the Demons. Kendal Coleman came off the NSU bench to record a double-double with 18 points and 15 rebounds while LaTerrance Reed contributed 10 points.
 
LAST TIME OUT –
ULM 114, CHAMPION CHRISTIAN 59 (Nov. 16, 2021, in Monroe, La.):
ULM topped Champion Christian, 114-59, in the home opener at Fant-Ewing Coliseum. Six Warhawks scored in double figures as ULM posted its eighth-highest point total and tied the fourth-largest margin of victory in program history. Andre Jones had 17 points, his highest total at ULM, connecting on eight of his 12 field-goal attempts.
 
The Warhawks put together a complete game, sharing the ball with 22 assists and dominating on the boards with a 51-33 advantage. ULM also capitalized with 39 points off 25 Tiger turnovers as the Warhawks picked up 18 steals. ULM finished the game with a .542 field-goal percentage. It marked the 82nd time the Warhawks reached 100 points.
 
Additional energy from the bench produced a 17-0 run over three minutes that allowed ULM to extend its nine-point lead at 22-13 to 39-13. A basket by Ariyon Williams gave Champion Christian its only points over a five-minute stretch that before the Warhawks scored the next 10 points. That 27-2 run in the first half helped ULM to a comfortable 60-28 score going into the locker room.
 
ULM stayed focused in the second half and answered the first Tiger basket of the second half with a 20-5 scoring run for an 82-35 lead. Ten different Warhawks scored in the first 10 minutes of the second half and ULM cruised the rest of the way, leading by as many as 59 points.
 
Trey Boston and Reginald Gee 16 scored points each with Boston knocking in three 3-pointers in the first period. Gee scored 13 of his 16 points in the second half, on 6-of-9 shooting from the field, and collecting seven rebounds in the game. Langston Powell had 14 points in 12 minutes of action and shared the team-high assists total (4) with Boston. Koreem Ozier dropped in three treys and had 13 points on the night as well three steals and a team-best two blocked shots.
 
Elijah Gonzales sparked the Warhawks with his defensive play and tied his career high in steals with five, the second-highest single-game total in the Sun Belt so far this season. Gonzales plucked three of his steals and scored five points in the Warhawks' 27-2 first-half run and finished the night seven points and five rebounds, his top total in a Warhawk uniform and one shy of his career best. Junior walk-on Justin Gibson, who first joined the team as a team manager two years ago, scored his first career points as a Warhawk and added two rebounds and an assist to his stat line.
 
In the frontcourt, Thomas Howell had the top rebound total for the first time for the Warhawks with a career-best eight. Sophomore forward Nika Metskhvarisvili went 3-for-3 from the field for six points to along with two assists and two steals. Red-shirt sophomore Luke Phillips's stat line had six points, two rebounds, an assist and a steal.
 
Champion Christian's leading scorer Braylon Hawkins had the game high with 19 points while Malik Laurent was the game's top rebounder with nine.
 
2021-22 ULM STARTING LINEUPS –
Nov. 9 at LSU: Gonzales, Jones, Gee, Harrison, Howell
Nov. 12 at Auburn: Gonzales, Boston, Gee, Harrison, Howell
Nov. 16 vs. Champion Christian: Gonzales, Jones, Gee, Harrison, Howell
                                      
Different Starting Combinations (2):
Gonzales, Jones, Gee, Harrison, Howell: 2 (1-1)
Gonzales, Boston, Gee, Harrison, Howell: 1 (0-1)
 
2021-22 WARHAWK STATISTICAL TRENDS –
Games played in Fant-Ewing Coliseum: 1-0
Games played on the road: 0-2
Games played at a neutral site: 0-0                        
 
Games played in November: 1-2
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: 1-1
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: 0-2
When opponent shoots .500 or better from the field: 0-1
When opponent shoots less than .500 from the floor: 1-1
 
When outrebounding opponent: 1-0
When outrebounded by opponent: 0-2
When rebounding totals are equal: 0-0
 
When hitting more free throws than opponent: 1-0
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: 1-0                         
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+ points: 1-0
 
When opponent scores less than 50 points: 0-0  
When opponent scores 50-59 points: 1-0
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: 1-2
 
Largest deficit overcome to win: 2 (9-7 vs. Champion Christian, Nov. 16)
Largest lead surrendered in a loss: 8 (30-22 and 32-24 at Auburn, Nov. 12)
 
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