ULM Closes Out Non-Conference Schedule at Lamar

Men's Basketball Dec 20

GAME 12: ULM (7-4, 0-0 SBC) vs. LAMAR (2-10, 0-0 WAC)
Monday, Dec. 20 | 7 p.m. CT
Montagne Center (10,746) | Beaumont, Texas
ESPN+ | KLIP 105.3 FM

2021-22 ULM Basketball Notes: Game 12 vs. Lamar

THE STORYLINE –
ULM looks for its second-straight road win and sixth consecutive victory when it travels to Lamar for its final non-conference game of the year on Monday night.

All five Warhawk starters scored in double figures in the 74-65 win over Southern Miss, accounting for 68 of the team's points.

In ULM's seven wins, it averages 91.9 points per game with graduate guard Andre Jones (15.6), junior guard Koreem Ozier (14.8) and senior forward Russell Harrison (14.6) leading a balanced scoring attack. The Warhawks average 80.7 points per game overall, still best in the Sun Belt and 30th nationally.

Lamar has won the last five games in the series, but the two teams have played only once since the 2005-06 season when they were both members of the Southland Conference.

THE STARTING FIVE –
• ULM stands second in the Sun Belt Conference and 14th nationally in field-goal percentage at .493, just a fraction behind Georgia Southern at .507. Since Nov. 30, the Warhawks have risen from 10th place in the league in 3-point field-goal percentage (.293) to fifth following the Southern Miss victory (.342).

• When the Warhawks take care of the ball, and more specifically, when they have fewer turnovers than their opponents, the Warhawks have won those seven games. The turnover trend is split exactly along those category lines with ULM's 7-0 mark with fewer miscues and 0-4 record in games with more turnovers than its opponent.

• Over the first seven games of the season, senior forward Russell Harrison made a 3-pointer in six of those games. Over the last four games, Harrison has averaged 3.5 treys per game. He tied his career best with five vs. Louisiana College Dec. 8 and is the team's current leader with 20 in 2021-22.

• ULM tied its highest single-game output in blocks for the third time this season with five vs. Southern Miss. Sophomore forward Nika Metskhvarishvili accounted for three, tying his career best for the second time this season (first at Auburn Nov. 12).

• A 10-day holiday break from competition begins after Monday night's game, with the Warhawks' next game on Dec. 30 at Coastal Carolina in the Sun Belt Conference opener. ULM starts the new year at Appalachian State Jan. 1 and returns to Fant-Ewing Coliseum Jan. 6 vs. Little Rock.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS –
5 — ULM's current five-game win streak is its longest since a five-game streak during the 2017-18 season. In the Keith Richard era, the Warhawks' longest win streak is 10, which occurred during the 2015-16 campaign.

+18.6 — During ULM's five-game win streak, the Warhawks possess a scoring average advantage of 18.6 points per game over their opponents. ULM is averaging 86.6 points per game to its foes' 68.0.

55.9% — The Warhawks are sharing the ball exremely well with a league-leading 17.2 assists per game, good for a No. 24 national ranking, and recording assists on 55.9 percent of their field goals.

60 — With his team-best 18 points in the win over Southern Miss Saturday, graduate guard Andre Jones recorded his 60th career double-figure scoring game.

65 — ULM's defense held Southern Miss to 65 points, the second-lowest point total by an opponent this season. The Golden Eagles attempted only 52 shots, with only 14 attempts from beyond the arc.

191 — Koreem Ozier, who has led the team in assists three times this season, has 191 career assists, within striking distance of recording 200 career assists.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE –
According to kenpom.com (as of Dec. 19, 2021), ULM's strength of schedule in 2021-22 is among the nation's top 50, now at 48th with a rating of +5.60. ESPN.com ranks the Warhawks' SOS at No. 89.

LAMAR SCOUTING REPORT –
Head Coach: Alvin Brooks (Lamar, 1980)
Record at Lamar: 2-10 (1st season)
Career record: 56-94 (6th season)
Brooks' Record vs. ULM: (1-1 as head coach of Houston)
Cardinals' top scorer: Senior G C.J. Roberts (14.1 ppg.)
Cardinals' top rebounder: Senior F Lincoln Smith (5.9 rpg.)

Lamar lost its third-straight game at Texas A&M Corpus Christi, 57-53, Saturday, playing seven of its last eight games on the road. Monday's game in Beaumont is only the Cardinals' fourth home game of the year and they have won two of those three. The only home loss was a one-point heartbreaker, 60-59, to Stetson on Nov. 19.

The Cardinals have faced two Sun Belt Conference opponents in 2021-22 in Texas State (L, 67-47, Dec. 15) and UT Arlington (L, 47-56, Dec. 11). Lamar also played Southern Miss, a shared opponent between the two programs, but the Cardinals dropped their decision, 82-75.

Lamar's Davion Buster, who hit the game-winning 3-pointer to give the Cardinals the 63-60 win over ULM in Fant-Ewing Coliseum last year, is ranked 13th among NCAA Division I active career leaders for 3-pointers per game with 2.80. Buster has 230 treys so far in his four-year career as a Cardinal.

The Cardinals' first-year head coach Alvin Brooks is an alumnus of Lamar University and began his career as an assitant coach at his alma mater. In two years as a Cardinal, he guided the team to a 47-16 record, two league titles and a 3-2 mark in the NCAA tournament. Brooks set the all-time assists record (432) and still ranks second in that category. He also set the LU single-season assist record with 249 (8.3 apg).

ULM/LAMAR SERIES NOTES –
Lamar holds a 27-24 advantage in the series and has won the last five contests. The Cardinals have won seven of the last 10 meetings with only one meeting, last season's Dec. 9 contest, between the two programs since ULM left the Southland Conference following the 2005-06 season.

Keith Richard is 0-1 vs. Lamar as ULM head coach.

THE LAST MEETING–
Lamar 63, ULM 60, (Dec. 9, 2020, in Monroe, La.): ULM's 2020-21 home opener was a heartbreaker. Lamar's Davion Buster nailed a half-court 3-pointer as time expired and that was the difference in a 63-60 win over the Warhawks.

ULM led by as many as 13 points early in the second half and had the edge late before a cold stretch let Lamar creep back into the game. The Cardinals used a 9-0 run to tie ULM at 55-55 on Buster's 3-pointer with 3:44 left in the contest. Russell Harrison's jumper with 2:32 to go ended the ULM scoring drought.

Buster's 3-pointer with 1:15 remaining gave Lamar its first lead at 60-58 since the first half.

With ULM trailing 60-58, the Warhawks missed two free throws with 19 seconds left in the game and then another before Marco Morency's jumper with eight seconds left tied the game at 60 before Buster's dagger 3-ball. Buster scored 16 points with four 3-pointers in his season debut.

For ULM, Harrison made a splashy home debut with 22 points, nine rebounds and three assists. Josh Nicholas came off the bench to score 11 points for the Warhawks.

The game featured four ties and just three lead changes with the Warhawks in control for most of the night. With 11:32 remaining in the first half, Lamar led ULM, 13-11 as the Warhawks committed seven turnovers in the first 8:28.

Strong bench play helped turn the game around as Nicholas came in to help spark a 9-0 run that put ULM up 20-13. The Warhawks held a 17-5 edge in bench scoring over the first 20 minutes.

ULM finished the first half with a defensive flourish to lead 36-25 by the break. The Warhawks scored 15 points off turnovers and held Lamar without a field goal over the last 4:10 of the half.

Quinlan Bennett led Lamar with 17 points and Avery Sullivan added 15.

THE LAST TIME OUT –
ULM 74, Southern Miss 65 (Dec. 18, 2021, in Monroe, La.): Thomas Howell scored a career-high 14 points and Russell Harrison recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds as ULM remained unbeaten at home (5-0) and extended its winning streak to five in a row with a 74-65 victory over Southern Miss Saturday.

It matched ULM's longest-winning streak since the 2017-18 season. It also marked the Warhawks' seventh consecutive victory in Fant-Ewing Coliseum, dating back to the final Sun Belt Conference series last February.

There were six lead changes and nine ties in the tightly contested game.

ULM scored the first six points of the game and took an 8-2 lead on Howell's rebound goal, off a missed 3-pointer from the left corner, with 16:40 left in the first half. Trailing 12-8, Southern Miss put together a 15-7 run and took a 23-19 lead on Rashad Bolden's deep 3-pointer from the left wing with 7:06 on the clock. Bolden accounted for eight points during that stretch, including the last six in a row.

Andre Jones drove through traffic in the lane for a layup and Howell followed with a left-handed hook as the Warhawks tied the score at 23-all with 6:17 to play in the opening period. The Golden Eagles regained the lead as DeAndre Pinckney tallied the next four points for a 27-23 advantage with 4:41 left. Harrison buried a 3 from the top of the circle and Langston Powell hit the second of two free-throw attempts as ULM pulled even at 27-all with 3:09 to play. Southern Miss and the Warhawks traded baskets over the final 2:51 and Howell's tip-in at the buzzer knotted the game at 31.

The Golden Eagles got 13 first-half points from Bolden, who went 5-for-5 from the field, including two 3s. Howell finished the first 20 minutes with 10 points, hitting 5-of-7 shots from the floor, and three offensive rebounds for the Warhawks.

The Warhawks took the lead for good at 40-38 on Ozier's 3 from the right baseline with 15:56 remaining in the second half. Nika Metskhvarishvili rattled home a 3-pointer from the top of the circle to spark a 9-1 run as ULM moved out to a 57-46 lead on Jones' layup, off a feed from Elijah Gonzales. Southern Miss went nearly 4 1/2 minutes without a field goal, missing three-straight shots and committing two turnovers. Gonzales banked in a 3 to give ULM its largest lead at 65-53 with 1:34 left in the game.

ULM shot 56 percent (14-of-25) from the field in the second half, including 5-of-9 3-pointers, and went 10-of-13 from the free-throw line (77 percent). After being outmuscled on the backboards in the first half, the Warhawks outrebounded Southern Miss, 17-13, over the last 20 minutes.

For the game, ULM held an edge in points in the paint, 38-24; second-chance points, 12-5; points off turnovers, 19-16; and fast-break points, 16-13.

All five of ULM's starters scored in double figures for the first time this season, led by Jones, who netted 14 of his 18 points in the second half while connecting on 5-of-6 field-goal attempts and 4-of-6 shots from the charity stripe. Ozier reached double figures for his eighth consecutive game, contributing 15 points and four assists.

Howell, who made 7-of-11 shots from the field, added seven rebounds, including four off the offensive glass, three assists and a blocked shot. His 31 minutes played matched his season and career high (at SMU).

Harrison, who posted his fifth career double-double, hit 2-of-3 3-pointers and grabbed six of his 10 rebounds during the second half. He has produced double-figure scoring in five-straight games, averaging 16.8 points and 6.4 rebounds during that stretch. Gonzales put together another solid stat line with 10 points, six rebounds and three steals.

Bolden hit 7-of-9 field-goal attempts, including 3-for-3 from behind the 3-point arc, and finished with a game-high 19 points to pace the Golden Eagles. Tyler Stevenson added 11 points, hitting 5-of-10 shots from the floor, for Southern Miss, which dropped its fifth consecutive game.

QUOTING KEITH RICHARD –
Lamar scouting report
"Alvin Brooks is in his first year as head coach at his alma mater, Lamar. Brooks previously served as an assistant coach at Houston and he brought that offensive philosophy with him, so this Lamar team really attacks the offensive boards. They've had double-figure offensive rebounds in six games this season.

"Lamar has been involved in a lot of close games, with seven of them decided by nine points or less. It has lost three games by a total of 11 combined points. Brooks has had to manage a lot of early season injuries, so he's started 11 different lineups already.

"When healthy, Lamar has a deep and dynamic backcourt, with Kasen Harrison, Davion Buster, C.J. Roberts and Jordyn Adams all scoring in double figures. They're especially tough to defend late in the shot clock because they have multiple guys who can score from the perimeter or off the dribble.

"Lamar has played seven out of last eight games on the road, so I'm sure those players are excited to be playing at home. It's important that we match their energy tonight. Brooks will play a lot guys, and his team plays really hard."

On preparing for quick turnaround for Lamar game
"We do have a quick turnaround with the game at Lamar on Monday, so we'll treat it like it's a Sun Belt Conference weekend. We play Thursdays and Saturdays in conference play, so now, we have a Saturday-Monday setup. So, we'll go through the same routine as we would for a league weekend.

"Hopefully, we can continue to play well. We're in a good place right now, regardless of what happens Monday (at Lamar). I don't want to break for Christmas to tell you the truth; I really don't (laughing). We're in a good groove right now. We'd like to finish out the non-conference schedule with a winning streak and bring some momentum into conference play. It's another opportunity to win a road game, like we did at SFA last Tuesday. So, hopefully, we can add another confidence booster for our team."

On team's composure vs. Southern Miss
"That's two games in a row that I've been pleased with the way the team responded after halftime. I call these grind games because you have to grind out every possession on both defense and offense. We were too anxious in the first half and got antsy at times, firing away from 3 too quickly. We attempted 12 3s in the first half and that's too many. We had success scoring inside the 3-point line, but got away from it for stretches.

"We made some subtle adjustments at halftime, calmed down and played with more composure in the second half. We did a much better job of grinding out possessions in the second half, than we did in the first half. Offensively, we played really well in the second half. We got into a better flow, turned down some 3s and found ways to score inside the 3-point line. We made a few defensive adjustments that helped us too. Their ability to listen at halftime is critical to winning games sometimes, and again, I liked the way our team responded in the second half."

On adjusting to different styles of play
"We were well prepared for this kind of game, but I'm really happy about the way we responded to this type of game. This was different than the free-flowing style game we played at SFA. We had a lot of half-court possessions against Southern Miss, and this was good for us because in our league several teams play different styles. We're going to run into this numerous times during our league schedule where we have to shift gears from one opponent to the next. I'm happy with the win and playing in this (grind-it-out) way. It bodes well for us when we move through Sun Belt Conference play.

"Our team really moved the ball well in the second half. The ball was popping, from inside to outside, as well as from side to side. When we play together like that and don't turn the ball over, we look and feel like a good team."

On Harrison's continuing improvement
"Russell Harrison has always been a good defensive rebounder, and Saturday, he did it against a taller team. Russ had eight defensive boards. Offensively, Russ struggled a little in the first half, but I keep him in there in the second half because he's always a scoring threat. He hit two big 3s there in the second half at the right moments. Russ played with more composure in the second half. That's five games in a row that he's played pretty well."

On Howell's energy vs. Southern Miss
"Thomas Howell had great energy on the floor, and you could feel it. Thomas really rebounded the ball well. He was getting up high to grab the ball off the glass and he has great hands. He played a strong game on both ends of the floor and moved up and down the floor well. Thomas played strong in the post and carried the scoring load in the first half.

"I know I played him a lot, nearly 31 minutes, but that's the reason I put him back in the game during the second half because he was rebounding the ball so well. Thomas had an excellent all-around game."

On what Jones brings to Warhawks
"Now, Andre Jones can drive it, especially in late-game situations. Andre has the ability to put the ball on the ground and beat people off the dribble. He has the combination of quickness and power to get to the rim and score layups or get fouled. In late-game matchups, Andre is a killer to opposing teams. That's just what he did tonight. He had two- or three-straight buckets that kept Southern Miss away from making a late run. Andre is a tremendous athlete, with good ball-handling skills. He's definitely a good weapon to have on the floor down the stretch in games."

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
Nov. 22 vs. Northwestern State: Gonzales, Jones, Ozier, Harrison, Howell
Nov. 24 vs. Louisiana Tech: Gonzales, Jones, Ozier, Harrison, Howell
Nov. 28 at SMU: Jones, Ozier, Powell, Harrison, Howell
Dec. 1 vs. Centenary: Jones, Ozier, Powell, Harrison, Howell
Dec. 4 vs. Northwestern State: Gonzales, Ozier, Jones, Harrison, Howell
Dec. 8 vs. Louisiana Christian: Gonzales, Powell, Jones, Harrison, Howell
Dec. 14 at SFA: Gonzales, Powell, Jones, Harrison, Howell
Dec. 18 vs. Southern Miss: Gonazles, Ozier, Jones, Harrison, Howell

Different Starting Combinations (5):
Gonzales, Ozier, Jones, Harrison, Howell: 4 (3-1)
Gonzales, Jones, Gee, Harrison, Howell: 2 (1-1)
Jones, Ozier, Powell, Harrison, Howell: 2 (1-1)
Gonzales, Boston, Gee, Harrison, Howell: 1 (0-1)
Gonzales, Powell, Jones, Harrison, Howell: 2 (2-0)

2021-22 WARHAWK STATISTICAL TRENDS –
Games played in Fant-Ewing Coliseum: 5-0
Games played on the road: 1-4
Games played at a neutral site: 1-0

Games played in November: 2-4
Games played in December: 5-0
Games played in January: 0-0
Games played in February: 0-0
Games played in March: 0-0

When leading at halftime: 6-2
When trailing at halftime: 0-2
When tied at halftime: 1-0

When shooting .500 or better from the field: 5-0
When shooting less than .500 from the field: 2-4
When opponent shoots .500 or better from the field: 0-2
When opponent shoots less than .500 from the floor: 7-2

When outrebounding opponent: 5-0
When outrebounded by opponent: 2-4
When rebounding totals are equal: 0-0

When hitting more free throws than opponent: 4-0
When hitting fewer free throws than opponent: 3-4
When hitting the same number of free throws as opponent: 0-0

When committing fewer turnovers than opponent: 7-0
When opponent commits fewer turnovers: 0-4
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: 0-2
When ULM scores 70-79 points: 1-1
When ULM scores 80-89 points: 3-0
When ULM scores 90+ points: 3-0

When opponent scores less than 50 points: 0-0
When opponent scores 50-59 points: 1-0
When opponent scores 60-69 points: 5-0
When opponent scores 70-79 points: 1-1
When opponent scores 80-89 points: 0-0
When opponent scores 90+ points: 0-3

Games decided by five points or less: 0-0
Games decided by 6-10 points: 1-1
Games decided by 11-19 points: 2-0
Games decided by 20 points or more: 4-3

Largest deficit overcome to win: 5 (16-11 and 20-15 at SFA, Dec. 14)
Largest lead surrendered in a loss: 10 (28-18 and 60-50 at SMU, Nov. 28)

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ULM Closes Out Non-Conference Schedule at Lamar