Russell Harrison dribble drive vs NSU 2021-22
Luke Richard/ULM Athletics
71
Northwestern St. NW 1-8,0-0 Southland
84
Winner La.-Monroe ULM 4-4,0-0 Sun Belt
Northwestern St. NW
1-8,0-0 Southland
71
Final
84
La.-Monroe ULM
4-4,0-0 Sun Belt
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Northwestern St. NW 35 36 71
La.-Monroe ULM 40 44 84

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Harrison Scores Career-High 25 Points; ULM Sweeps Season Series Against NSU

By ULMWarhawks.com Online Columnist Paul Letlow

MONROE La.  – After starting the season with a bleach blonde hairstyle, Russell Harrison recently decided a new look was in order.

"I had to get rid of that," Harrison said.

Sporting a closer-cropped natural cut on Saturday, Harrison looked more like his old self on the basketball court too. The senior forward scored a career-high 25 points as ULM outlasted Northwestern State, 84-71, Saturday afternoon at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.

"I've been riding it out and staying the course," said Harrison, who came into ULM's eighth game averaging 6.7 points per game after scoring at 12.5 clip a year ago. "It's been a long time coming, but I continued to work hard and grind it out."

Harrison was 11-of-16 field-goal shooting with two 3-pointers and seven rebounds.

"Russell Harrison had a breakout game, and man, did we ever need him," ULM coach Keith Richard said. "We needed that position to be well and be right. He made a lot of mid-range shots, made a few threes and played under control."

With the victory, ULM evened its record to 4-4 and won back-to-back outings for the second time this season. The Warhawks also improved to 3-0 at home.

Koreem Ozier reached double figures scoring for the sixth-straight game with 17 points while pulling down seven rebounds to go along with five assists. Trey Boston added 11 points as ULM shot 52 percent (35-of-67) from the floor.

The Warhawks scored 21 points off 16 Northwestern State turnovers.

Kendal Coleman recorded a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds to lead Northwestern State (1-8), which saw five players reach double figures in scoring.

ULM made 12-of-18 field-goal attempts with two 3-pointers in opening the game with a 27-11 spree. Harrison scored 11 to carry the scoring load early.

After trailing by as many as 17 points in the first half, the Demons closed with a 12-2 run to cut the lead to 40-35 at the intermission. The Warhawks missed their last five shots and made just 3-of-14 3-point attempts in the half.

"At halftime, I had to tell the guys, 'you have to be tough minded,'" Richard said. "Turn down some of these open threes and get to the rim."

The Demons drew as close as three points twice early in the second half, but the Warhawks wouldn't allow the visitors to draw any closer.

With a 7-0 run, ULM was leading comfortably again 75-59 with 4:47 remaining in the game.

Harrison's season-high scoring prior to Saturday was 11 points against Champion Christian on Nov. 16. His previous career high was 22 against Lamar on Dec. 9, 2020.

"It may have been his best game with the way he played," Richard said. "Not just the points. He shot it when it was there, drove it when he was supposed to and moved it when it wasn't there. Hopefully, that's something Russ can build on moving forward."

ULM, which came into the contest leading the Sun Belt Conference in scoring at 79.9 points per game, topped 80 points for the fourth time.

"We work a lot on our offense every day," Harrison said. "This new offense we put in is coming along really good."

Up next: ULM plays host to Louisiana Christian, formerly Louisiana College, on Wednesday, Dec. 8 to complete a three-game homestand. Tipoff is 6:30 p.m.

Tail feathers: ULM leads the all-time series with Northwestern State, 78-50, and has posted five-straight wins over its in-state rival. ULM beat NSU, 96-66, 12 days ago in the Lanky Wells Classic in Ruston, La.  … ULM's first turnover of the game came with 6:40 left in the first half on a Northwestern State steal. … Matt Vines, grandson of former ULM President Dwight Vines, worked the game as the assistant sports information director for NSU.
 
 
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