ULM Opens Sun Belt Schedule at Coastal Carolina

Men's Basketball Dec 29

Game 13: ULM (8-4, 0-0 SBC) at Coastal Carolina (7-4, 0-0 SBC)
Thursday, Dec. 30 | 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT
HTC Center (3,600) | Conway, S.C.
ESPN+ | KLIP 105.3 FM

2021-22 ULM Basketball Notes: Game 13 vs. Coastal Carolina

THE STORYLINE –
ULM opens Sun Belt Conference play on the road for the first time since the 2017-18 season with Thursday's game at Coastal Carolina. The Warhawks close the 2021 portion of their schedule on a six-game win streak, their longest non-conference win streak in the Keith Richard era, and the longest current win streak in the SBC.

The Warhawk starting lineup accounted for 71 points in the 80-77 win over Lamar Dec. 20 with Andre Jones (14), Russell Harrison (13) and Thomas Howell (10) scoring in double figures in the second half for the comeback win.

Thursday's contest marks the first time ULM will play Coastal Carolina in a conference opener.

Six of the eight meetings between ULM and Coastal Carolina have been as Sun Belt Conference opponents with the Warhawks' last win in the series coming in the 2019 SBC Championship. ULM seeks its first win (0-3) at the HTC Center.

THE STARTING FIVE –
• The Warhawks are undefeated in December with a six-game winning streak this month, which includes two road wins. ULM is 6-0 this season when shooting .500 or better from the field and all eight wins so far in 2021-22 have occurred when the Warhawks hold their opponents to a field-goal percentage of less than .500.

• The current six-game win streak is the longest-winning streak since the 2015-16 season when the Warhawks won 10-straight Sun Belt Conference games. The eight non-conference victories in 2021-22 are the most since the 1987-88 team won 10 non-league games.

• Taking care of and distributing the ball have been points of pride for the Warhawks in non-conference play. ULM leads the Sun Belt with a 1.36 team assist-to-turnover ratio and 17.2 assists per game. Kenpom.com rates the Warhawks 47th nationally with assists on 58.4 percent of the team's field goals.

• The Warhawks also have a knack for taking the ball away from their opponents with 112 total steals, second in the Sun Belt and 30th nationally. Junior guard Elijah Gonzales (2.08 spg.) and graduate guard Andre Jones (2.00 spg.) rank 1-2 in the league's individual stats and stand 46th and 53rd in the national rankings, respectively.

• ULM recovered from an eight-point halftime deficit against Lamar to pick up its first win in 2021-22 after trailing at the half. Lamar's 10-point lead (1:28 1H, 42-32) was the largest the Warhawks have overcome en route to a victory since they erased a 15-point Troy lead in a 76-71 win Jan. 25, 2018. It was the largest deficit overcome in a road game since Feb. 25, 2017, when ULM scored 53 points in the second half and wiped out a 14-point App State lead for a 75-64 victory.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS –
2.05 — The Sun Belt Conference leader with 25 total steals so far in 2021-22, good for 27th in the national rankings, Elijah Gonzales moved up to 10th among NCAA active career leaders with a 2.05 steals-per-game average.

8 — Graduate guard Andre Jones had a game-high and season-best eight assists in the Warhawks' win over Lamar. With 271 total, he needs just 29 more to reach 300 for his career.

18.2 — Senior Russell Harrison, who tallied 20-point totals three times in the last five games, is averaging a team-best 18.2 points and 6.7 rebounds per contest over ULM's six-game winning streak.

22 — ULM is one of the best teams in the nation, No. 22 according to kenpom.com, in 2-point scoring efficiency. The Warhawks' 2-point field goals account for 56 percent of its 80.7 points per game, the highest scoring average in the Sun Belt.

49.5% — The Warhawks' field-goal percentage of .495, just behind Sun Belt leader Georgia Southern's .507, ranks 13th nationally.

68.8 — Freshman forward Thomas Howell ranks 16th nationally on kenpom.com's chart for effective field-goal percentage at 68.8, the only freshman to appear on that Top-20 list. Howell is shooting .658 overall from the field, which would place him sixth in the country for field-goal percentage.

WARHAWKS IN SUN BELT CONFERENCE OPENERS –
ULM enters its 16th season of Sun Belt competition with a 5-10 record (.333) in league openers and a 4-7 mark in Sun Belt openers under Keith Richard. ULM hits the road for its first Sun Belt Conference opener away from Fant-Ewing since the 2017-18 season and plays Coastal Carolina in a league opener for the first time. The last time the Warhawks won a conference opener on the road came in their first season in the Sun Belt in 2006-07, with a 67-65 victory at Middle Tennessee State.

Seven of ULM's Sun Belt openers have been decided by five points or less, including three in overtime.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE –
According to kenpom.com (as of Dec. 29, 2021), ULM's strength of schedule in 2021-22 is 88th with a rating of +3.51. ESPN.com ranks the Warhawks' SOS at No. 115.

COASTAL CAROLINA SCOUTING REPORT –
Head Coach: Cliff Ellis (Florida State, 1968)
Record at Coastal Carolina/Career record: 271-193 (15th season)/805-530 (44th season)
Ellis' Record vs. ULM: 5-2
Chanticleers' top scorer/rebounder: Red-shirt sophomore C Essam Mostafa (17.1 ppg./9.8 rpg.)

Middle Tennessee State snapped Coastal Carolina's three-game winning streak with an 84-80 win Dec. 19 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, the Chanticleers' last game prior to the holiday break. Seniors Rudi Williams scored 26 points and Vince Cole had 20 to lead Coastal Carolina. Essam Mostafa picked up his sixth double-double of the season with 19 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

Coastal Carolina opens Sun Belt Conference action with ULM Thursday night and will play host to the Ragin' Cajuns Saturday, Jan. 1, and then has one final non-conference game with Emory & Henry on Sunday, Jan. 2. The Chanticleers were 9-5 in the league in 2020-21 with an overall mark of 18-8 and advanced to the finals of the College Basketball Invitational before falling to Pepperdine, 81-64.

Three starters, Garrick Green, Ebrima Dibba and Essam Mostafa, returned from the 2020-21 squad with veterans Rudi Williams and Vince Cole, both transfers, joining the team as starters for the 2021-22 season. Williams and Dibba rank No. 1 (2.65) and No. 2 (2.21), respectively, in the Sun Belt in assist-to-turnover ratio with Williams 38th in the national rankings. Dibba is tops in the league and 13th in the country in assists per game at 6.2 per contest with Williams checking in at fifth in the Sun Belt at 4.1 per game.

Chanticleer head coach Cliff Ellis is just one of four active NCAA men's basketball coaches to amass at least 800 wins with Ellis at 805, joining Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, Syracuse's Jim Boeheim and West Virginia's Bob Huggins. His first gig as a head coach was with Sun Belt Conference member South Alabama (1975-84) and his 171 wins with the Jaguars rank second all-time.

ULM/COASTAL CAROLINA SERIES NOTES –
Six of the eight meetings between ULM and Coastal Carolina have occurred in Sun Belt Conference play. Due to the COVID-modified intra-divisional schedule format in 2020-21, the two programs did not play each other. The Warhawks are looking for their first win in Conway as they make their second-straight trip in the series to the HTC Center.

Keith Richard is 2-5 vs. Coastal Carolina as ULM head coach.

THE LAST MEETING –
Coastal Carolina 93, ULM 64, (Jan. 6, 2020, in Conway, S.C.): Coastal Carolina opened the game with a 14-0 run and never looked back en route to a 93-64 win over ULM at the HTC Center.

DeVante' Jones, who nearly recorded a triple-double, paced a well-balanced attack as six Coastal players scored in double figures. Jones finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. The Chanticleers also got 17 points from Keishawn Brewton, 14 from Tyrell Gumbs-Frater, 13 from Garrick Green, 11 from Tommy Burton and 10 from Hosana Kitenge.

Coastal Carolina hit six of its first nine field-goal attempts, including 2-of-3 from 3-point range, in building a 14-0 lead. Following a ULM timeout, Tyree White scored eight points during a 10-2 spurt as the Warhawks pulled to within 16-10 on Jalen Hodge's left-handed hook shot in the lane with 11:04 left in the first half. The Chanticleers answered with a 14-2 run, with Brewton and Tyrell Gumbs-Frater each knocking down a pair of 3s, to regain control at 30-12 with 7:59 to play.

Coastal led by as many as 19 points in the opening half, but Langston Powell provided a spark off the ULM bench, hitting all three of his 3-point field-goal attempts over the final seven minutes, as the Warhawks trimmed their deficit to 42-28 at the intermission.

The Chanticleers shot 62 percent (18-of-29) from the field in the second half and extended their lead to as many as 32 points. Coastal became the first opponent to shoot better than 50 percent from the field against ULM in the 2019-20 season, finishing 34-of-62 (55 percent) from the floor, including 11-of-30 3-pointers (37 percent). The Chants outrebounded ULM, 44-23, and enjoyed an 18-2 advantage in second-chance points.

Powell, who made 5-of-7 shots from the floor including 4-of-5 3s, led ULM (6-8, 2-3) with a season-high 18 points. The former West Monroe (Louisiana) High School standout was sidelined for the first five games of the 2019-20 season with shin splints.

Two other Warhawks posted double figures, including Michael Ertel and Hodge who added 15 and 11 points, respectively. Ertel also recorded five assists and three steals.

NEXT OPPONENT – APP STATE (Jan. 1, 2022)
Mountaineers' Record: 6-7, 0-0 SBC
Last game: L, 70-50 at North Carolina Dec. 21, 2021
Next game: Dec. 30 vs. Ragin' Cajuns
Mountaineers top scorer: Senior G Adrian Delph (14.9 ppg.)
Mountaineers' top rebounders: Junior F Donovan Gregory (5.5 rpg.), Senior F James Lewis Jr. (5.5 rpg.)

ULM/APP STATE SERIES NOTES –
The Warhawks lead the all-time series, 6-4, with all games occurring since the 2014-15 season when the Mountaineers joined the Sun Belt Conference. ULM has won two of the last three meetings, falling in the 2019-20 regular-season finale, 61-57, in Fant-Ewing Coliseum. The two programs did not play in the 2020-21 season due to the COVID-modified Sun Belt scheduling format. Four of the last five games have been decided by six points or less.

THE LAST MEETING –
App State 61, ULM 57, (March 3, 2020, in Monroe, La.): Appalachian State ended ULM's hopes at postseason play as the 2019-20 season ended with a 61-57 loss to the Mountaineers at Fant-Ewing Coliseum. The Warhawks lost 14 of its 29 games by eight points or less.

On a night when the shots weren't falling for the home team, the Warhawks couldn't muster enough offense to overcome App State despite a late-game surge.

After trailing by 12 (49-37) with 8:22 left in the game, ULM used a 10-5 run to get within 54-47 on Langston Powell's layup with 3:41 showing. Tyree White's bucket at the 1:53 mark cut the lead to 58-52, then a turnover and layup by Josh Nicholas had ULM within four at 58-54 with a minute remaining.

After a timeout, App State's O'Showen Williams hit a spinning layup with 35.1 seconds to go, and Nicholas answered with a 3-pointer from the corner for a 60-57 score at the 22.8 mark. ULM would get no closer.

Tyree White scored 16 points with 11 rebounds and six assists and senior Youry White scored 11 points with 12 rebounds in their final game. Nicholas added 11 points while Michael Ertel scored 10.

ULM shot 36 percent from the field, making 22-of-61 field goals. The team made three of its 18 3-point attempts (17 percent).

ULM trailed 27-22 at halftime after failing to hit a field goal over the last 5:42 of the first half. The Warhawks trailed by as many as seven during a 5:39 scoring drought that finally ended when Ertel stroked a pair of free throws with 2.9 seconds left. ULM shot just 32 percent in the half (8-for-25), led in scoring by Ertel's seven points.

Early in the second half, App State used a 9-0 run to increase its lead to 12 points at 38-26.

THE LAST TIME OUT –
ULM 80, Lamar 77 (Dec. 20, 2021, in Monroe, La.): Andre Jones, Russell Harrison and Thomas Howell combined to score 37 of ULM's 45 second-half points as the Warhawks rallied from an eight-point halftime deficit for an 80-77 victory at Lamar and extended their winning streak to six-straight games. It marks ULM's longest-winning streak since the 2015-16 season when the Warhawks won 10-straight Sun Belt Conference games.

It also marked ULM's eighth non-conference victory of the 2021-22 campaign – the most since the 1987-88 team won 10 non-league games. In addition, the Warhawks snapped a five-game losing skid in the series against Lamar and recorded their first win in Beaumont, Texas, since Feb. 28, 2004, 77-65.

The game featured nine lead changes and three ties, with six of those lead changes coming in the first half.

Lamar controlled most of the first half, leading for more than 14 of the first 20 minutes. Harrison's 3-pointer gave ULM an early 6-4 lead and the Cardinals answered with a 10-2 spurt and took a 14-8 lead on C.J. Roberts' pull-up 3 in transition with 13:36 remaining. Trailing 18-11, Nika Metskhvarishvili's layup sparked a 7-0 run as ULM rallied to tie the score at 18-all on Howell's traditional three-point play with 8:29 left in the opening half. Jordyn Adams connected on back-to-back 3s as Lamar built its largest lead of the night at 42-32 with 1:28 to play. Adams (13) and Roberts (12) combined for 25 first-half points and the Cardinals had a 43-35 advantage at the intermission.

The Cardinals shot 51 percent (18-of-35) from the field in the first half, including 4-of-9 from 3-point range and dominated the glass outrebounding ULM, 24-13, including an 11-2 edge on the offensive boards. Surprisingly, the Cardinals also enjoyed a 22-18 edge in points from the paint. Harrison carried the scoring load for the Warhawks in the first half, netting 12 points.

ULM responded like a veteran team to open the second half, outscoring Lamar, 18-2, in the first 5:04 and took its biggest lead at 53-45 as Harrison buried a 3 from the right wing, off a cross-court pass from Jones. Harrison delivered eight points during the run, including back-to-back triples, as the Warhawks grabbed their first lead since 8-7. The Cardinals reeled off nine-straight points and regained the lead at 54-53 on Nickerson's three-point play with 12:58 on the clock. ULM took the lead for good at 55-54 on Harrison's jumper from the lane, off another feed from Jones.

The Warhawks matched their eight-point lead at 67-59 with 6:40 remaining, as Jones scored six-straight points on a turnaround jumper from left of the lane, a dunk off a steal by Langston Powell and a layup. Lamar managed to close the margin to one point twice in the final 3:50 – the last time at 78-77 as Kasen Harrison and Adams connected on back-to-back 3s in the final nine seconds. Elijah Gonzales converted two free throws with a fraction of a second on the clock for the 80-77 final.

After the intermission, Jones (14 points), Harrison (13) and Howell (10) shot a combined 14-of-18 (78 percent) from the field. As a team, the Warhawks made 16-of-28 second-half field-goal attempts (57 percent), including 3-of-9 3s, and 10-of-13 free-throw attempts. After a minus-11 rebound margin in the first half, ULM was only outrebounded by one after the break, 15-14. Over the final 20 minutes, the Warhawks held a decided advantage in points in the paint, 22-10; points off turnovers, 17-7; and fast-break points, 13-4. Lamar remained within striking distance in the second half, thanks to its 6-of-7 shooting (86 percent) from behind the 3-point arc.

Four ULM players scored in double figures, led by Harrison who posted his third 20-point performance in his last five games, matching his career high with 25 points. He finished 9-of-15 from the floor, including 4-of-8 3s, and collected a team-high eight rebounds.

Howell contributed a career-high 17 points, hitting 7-of-9 field-goal attempts, and six rebounds. Jones, who went 6-of-10 from the floor and a perfect 4-for-4 from the free-throw line, added 16 points and a season-high eight assists. Gonzales, who sat significant minutes with four fouls, tallied 10 points, four assists and matched his career-best with five steals.

Five Cardinals posted double figures, led by Adams who netted a season-high 21 points on 7-of-15 field-goal shooting including 4-of-8 3-pointers. Lamar also got 15 points from Roberts, 13 from Kasen Harrison and 12 from Brock McClure, while Nickerson produced his second career double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Lamar's bench was a major factor, outscoring ULM's reserves, 37-9.

QUOTING KEITH RICHARD –

Coastal Carolina scouting report
"Coastal Carolina heads into Sun Belt Conference play with some momentum, winning three of its last four games. Coastal also has played extremely well at home, posting a 6-1 record.

"Offensively, Coastal features a balanced-scoring attack, with three starters averaging in double figures. They will look to pound the ball inside, but they're comfortable playing from inside out, so they won't hesitate to shoot the open 3. Coastal is the best offensive rebounding team in the league, so we'll have to contest every shot and box out. We must limit their second-chance opportunities.

"Essam Mostafa leads the team in scoring and rebounding, nearly averaging a double-double. Mostafa does the bulk of his scoring around the basket, and he's very active on the offensive glass. Rudi Williams can score in a variety of ways, attacking the rim, shooting the mid-range jumper as well as the 3. Williams also hits the offensive boards. Vince Cole leads the team with 25 3-pointers, so we must be aware of where he is on the floor at all times and get out to contest his shots from behind the 3-point line.

"Defensively, Coastal will throw a little bit of everything at us. They play primarily man-to-man, but they'll play every type of zone and mix in some full-court pressure. They're focused on taking away the driving lanes and forcing opponents to shoot contested 3s."

On the come-from-behind win at Lamar
"It was a gritty win by the Warhawks. In the second half, we really got down and dirty with them, and we had to because Lamar out-toughed us in the first half. They outmuscled us on the backboards. They were simply the more physical team in the first half. That's all we talked about at halftime that we had to win those types of plays. Their toughness was the difference in the first half.

"Fast forward to the second half and I really like the way we responded. We rebounded the ball much better. We got down on the floor for the loose balls. We didn't let their guards drive in for the mid-range jumpers. It was just a better defensive performance by our team in the second half, which allowed us to go play better offense.

"Look at the swing in this game. We're down eight at the half after being outscored, 43-35. We win the second half, 45-34. That big swing tells you how well we played in the second half on both ends of the floor. Lamar had 11 offensive rebounds in the first half and finished with 16. So, they only got five (offensive boards) in the second half. We played a seven-man rotation in the second half and all of those guys played hard.

"We led by as many as eight in the second half, but Lamar cut it down to one twice in the last four minutes. So, our guys knew they had to make shots or plays at the rim to go close out this win on the road. That's another good road win for our team."

On big plays from Harrison, Jones and Howell
"Russell Harrison made some big shots in the second half. Andre Jones made some big plays at the rim too, and Thomas Howell had another career-high scoring night."

On being undefeated in December
"We haven't lost a game in the month of December, which means we're getting better. We've really improved in the last month. We've settled into what we're doing and how we want to play. This road win at Lamar was a good way to send us into the Christmas break."

On upcoming Sun Belt Conference play
"If you've been following the teams in our league, there really isn't a top and bottom tier. From top to bottom, the Sun Belt is as even as it has been in a long time. Fans should look forward to a lot of close games and a lot of last-second shots. It should be fun."

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
Dec. 20 at Lamar: Gonzales, Ozier, Jones, Harrison, Howell

Different Starting Combinations (5):
Gonzales, Ozier, Jones, Harrison, Howell: 5 (4-1)
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: 2-4
Games played at a neutral site: 1-0

Games played in November: 2-4
Games played in December: 6-0
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: 1-2
When tied at halftime: 1-0

When shooting .500 or better from the field: 6-0
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: 8-2

When outrebounding opponent: 5-0
When outrebounded by opponent: 3-4
When rebounding totals are equal: 0-0

When hitting more free throws than opponent: 5-0
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: 8-0
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: 4-0
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: 2-1
When opponent scores 80-89 points: 0-0
When opponent scores 90+ points: 0-3

Games decided by five points or less: 1-0
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: 10 (42-32 at Lamar, Dec. 20)
Largest lead surrendered in a loss: 10 (28-18 and 60-50 at SMU, Nov. 28)

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