Nika Metskhvarishvili jump shot vs SFA 2021-22
Luke Richard/ULM Athletics
82
Winner La.-Monroe ULM 6-4,0-0 Sun Belt
69
SFA SFA 8-3,0-0 WAC
Winner
La.-Monroe ULM
6-4,0-0 Sun Belt
82
Final
69
SFA SFA
8-3,0-0 WAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
La.-Monroe ULM 39 43 82
SFA SFA 28 41 69

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Mets Scores Career-High 21 Points; ULM Upsets SFA, 82-69

NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Nika Metskhvarishvili came off the bench to score a career-high 21 points to help lead ULM to an 82-69 upset victory at SFA Tuesday night, as the Warhawks extended their current winning streak to four games. It marked only SFA's fourth home-court loss in its last 35 games played in William R. Johnson Coliseum.
 
It marked ULM's second-straight win in the series – its longest winning streak against SFA since taking three in a row from 1998-2000. The 13-point victory also snapped the Warhawks' six-game losing streak in Nacogdoches.
 
According to kenpom.com, ULM's road victory over No. 133 SFA marked the Warhawks' best non-conference win since knocking off No. 89 Chattanooga, 64-54, on Nov. 30, 2015.
 
Gavin Kensmil scored six consecutive points for SFA as the Lumberjacks jumped to an 11-7 lead with 15:40 left in the first half. SFA (8-3) led by as many as five points three times in the first nine minutes – the last time at 22-17 as David Kachelries beat the shot clock with a 15-foot jumper from the left wing with 11:06 on the clock. Langston Powell connected on a runner from the right side of the lane to spark a 10-2 run as ULM (6-4) took its first lead at 27-24 on Metskhvarishvili's 3-pointer from the left wing with 7:39 remaining in the opening half. The Warhawks outscored SFA, 12-4, over the next five minutes and took an 11-point lead into the intermission at 39-28. The Lumberjacks went the last 4 1/2 minutes without a field goal.
 
ULM outscored SFA, 22-6, over the final 11:05 in the first half, with Metskhvarishvili accounting for 14 of those points while hitting 6-of-9 field-goal attempts including 2-for-2 from 3-point range. As a team, the Warhawks shot 52 percent (16-fo-31) from the floor, including 5-of-10 3s, in the opening 20 minutes. SFA also shot the ball well in the first half, connecting on 11-of-21 from the field (52 percent) but only 1-of-9 from behind the 3-point arc (11 percent).
 
Early in the second half, SFA put together a 9-0 spurt and cut its deficit to 46-43 on two free throws by Latrell Jossell with 14:04 on the clock. Andre Jones converted two free throws and Metskhvarishvili buried a 3 from the right wing as ULM pushed its lead to eight points at 51-43 with 12:19 remaining. Trailing 55-46, Jossell outscored ULM, 8-2, hitting a pair of free throws and back-to-back 3s from the left wing, as the Lumberjacks pulled to within 57-55 with 8:56 to play in the game. Koreem Ozier canned a 3-pointer from the top of the circle to spark an 11-0 run as ULM regained control at 73-59 on Thomas Howell's layup, on a feed from Jones, with 3:57 left. Ozier's put-back, off a missed 3 by Jones, gave the Warhawks their largest lead at 16 points, 82-66, with 30 seconds to go.
 
As a team, ULM shot better than 50 percent from the field (54 percent; 32-of-59 including 11-of-21 3s) for the third time during its four-game winning streak. SFA hit 46 percent (13-of-28) from the floor in the second half and finished at 49 percent (24-of-49) for the game, including 7-of-21 from 3-point distance. ULM outrebounded the Lumberjacks, 30-27, and held an edge in points in the paint, 38-30; second-chance points, 18-10; and bench points, 39-32. SFA enjoyed a 10-2 advantage in fast-break points.
 
"Tonight was all about what we could accomplish on the defensive end of the floor," ULM head coach Keith Richard said. "Could we stop some layups? Could we rebound the ball? I'm so happy for the players because this is a difficult matchup and a tough environment.
 
"At halftime, the last thing I told them was: 'It's your time now; go out and win this game for yourselves. Not for me, not for the coaches, but go win it for yourselves.' And they did just that. They overcame adversity in the second half. We knew the last 20 minutes were going to be tough, and we knew SFA was going to make a run. There were a lot of whistles early in the second half, which put SFA into the bonus six minutes in. We needed to make big plays down the stretch, and they did it for themselves. Everybody contributed, so I'm really happy for them."
 
Metskhvarishvili made 8-of-15 shots from the field, including 4-of-6 3-pointers, and collected six rebounds while playing a career-high 31 minutes.
 
"With the offense we ran for this one game, Nika moved the best among the guys playing the center position," Richard said. "He provided the best in-and-out option because we needed to move the ball quickly with the way SFA was playing defensively. They love to apply ball pressure and double sometimes. So, Nika was able to slip to the goal quickly from the perimeter, and that's why he got a lot of layups. He moved fluidly out there, so he also was able to move outside some to shoot some 3s. He really worked well without the ball to get open looks."
 
Three other Warhawks scored in double figures, including Russell Harrison, who posted 14 points on 5-of-9 field-goal shooting including 4-of-7 3s, before fouling out with 6:40 left in the game. ULM got 13 points, four rebounds, six assists and four steals from Jones while Ozier came off the bench to score 13 points, with 10 of those coming in the second half.
 
Ozier, who missed last week's game against Louisiana Christian after returning to his hometown of Racine, Wisconsin, to celebrate the birth of his daughter, went a perfect 5-for-5 from the field, including 2-for-2 from 3.
 
"Koreem Ozier made some big-time plays during crunch time in the second half," Richard said. "Koreem hit a big 3 from the top of the key and had a put-back. It looked like he hadn't missed a day of practice. Koreem played well and we certainly needed him."
 
Jossell, who scored 23 second-half points, finished with a career high 28 to pace the Lumberjacks. He hit 9-of-13 field-goal attempts, including 7-of-10 3-pointers.
 
Kensmil, who added 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the floor, was the only other SFA player to reach double figures in scoring.
 
ULM returns to Fant-Ewing Coliseum for a non-conference game against Southern Miss on Saturday, Dec. 18 at 2 p.m. It marks the second game of a ULM basketball doubleheader as the Warhawk women's team faces McNeese State at noon.
 
The ULM women's and men's basketball teams are co-sponsoring a Toy Drive in conjunction with Saturday's doubleheader. Fans are encouraged to bring a new, unwrapped toy on Saturday and receive two free general admission tickets to the doubleheader ($24 value). Toys collected at Fant-Ewing Coliseum will be distributed in the local communities by the Salvation Army.
 
"It would be great to see a large turnout to watch us play Saturday against Southern Miss Saturday," Richard said. "Southern Miss is a future Sun Belt opponent, so I'm sure they're out to flex their muscles. It should be a lot of fun with the doubleheader and Toy Drive.
 
"We just need to keep playing well while building confidence and an identifying heading into conference play."
 
 
Print Friendly Version