Russell Harrison dribble vs. Little Rock 2021
Victoria Pederson
66
Little Rock LR 10-12,6-9 Sun Belt
78
Winner La.-Monroe ULM 6-16,4-11 Sun Belt
Little Rock LR
10-12,6-9 Sun Belt
66
Final
78
La.-Monroe ULM
6-16,4-11 Sun Belt
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Little Rock LR 33 33 66
La.-Monroe ULM 40 38 78

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Five Players Score in Double Figures; ULM Cruises Past Little Rock, 78-66

MONROE, La. – Koreem Ozier and Marco Morency each scored 14 points to lead ULM to a 78-66 victory over Little Rock Sunday afternoon, as the Warhawks opened their final Sun Belt Conference home series of the 2020-21 season. Five Warhawks scored in double figures, including four starters.
 
With the win, ULM (6-16, 4-11 Sun Belt) also snapped a four-game losing streak against Little Rock.
 
The Warhawks scored 10 consecutive points to take a 10-3 lead on Thomas Howell's dunk, off an assist from Elijah Gonzales, with 15:00 remaining in the first half. Josh Nicholas hit an 18-foot jumper from straightaway to spark an 8-0 run as ULM sprinted out to a 21-9 lead on a high-arching 3-pointer from the top of the circle by Luke Phillips with 9:42 on the clock.
 
Late in the first half, Marko Lukic connected on a 3 from the left wing to fuel a 9-2 spurt as Little Rock cut its deficit to 35-33 on Nikola Maric's hook shot in the paint with 2:01 left. Maric accounted for six points as the Trojans made 4-of-5 field-goal attempts during that two-minute stretch.
 
ULM got two free throws from Morency and a three-point play from Chris Efretuei in the final 39 seconds to take a 40-33 lead into the intermission.
 
Gonzales buried a 3-pointer from the left corner on a cross-court pass from Ozier to key a decisive 15-2 run as ULM moved out to a 57-37 lead on Russell Harrison's 3 from the left wing with 15:02 remaining in the second half.
 
Morency's 15-foot pull-up jumper from the right side of the lane gave the Warhawks their largest lead at 68-47 with 7:56 to play in the game.
 
Little Rock pulled to within 12 points on four occasions in the final five minutes but failed to close the margin any further.
 
"It was a really good team win," ULM head coach Keith Richard said. "A lot of guys contributed and a lot of guys played well this afternoon. We played together out there on both ends of the court. Except for some turnovers here and there, it was a good performance. We just haven't been able to put together 40 minutes many times this season, but we did today.
 
"We emphasized the importance of fast-break points this week. We knew they had missed a couple of practices (due to the winter storms), but we didn't miss any. We preached pushing the pace because we felt fatigue might become a factor. We saw a little bit of it and the end of the first half, and early in the second half, we got some fast-break layups because they were laboring a little, which allowed us to extend the lead. We do have some faster players in the open court."
 
ULM shot a season-best 53 percent (31-of-58) from the field, including 42 percent (8-of-19) on 3-pointers. The Trojans hit 22-of-51 field-goal attempts (43 percent), including just 5-of-19 from 3 (26 percent).
 
The Warhawks recorded 18 assists on 31 made field goals.
 
"Elijah Gonzales is really helping us in that area, but the other guys are starting to pick it up," Richard said. "We've emphasized looking to make one more pass and taking advantage of the dump-down pass when the opportunities are there. We've worked on that religiously lately, and we've got a skilled enough team that we can be good at it. When we share the ball like we did this afternoon, we're a pretty good team."
 
ULM, which was outrebounded a combined 75-62 in the two previous meetings this season, managed to stay even on the glass, with each team collecting 30 rebounds.
 
ULM held a decided advantage in points off turnovers, 23-8; fast-break points, 18-4; and bench points, 22-5.
 
"We really like that stat (points off turnovers)," Richard said. "That's something we wanted to do because we're a quicker team, but we had to pick and choose our times to do it. In the second half, they went exclusively to throwing the ball inside. If we hedged or doubled down, they'd throw it out for 3s. If you don't double down low, (Nikola) Maric is the best one-on-one post player in the league. So, it's a difficult challenge, but we were able to dig in the post and create some turnovers and we were able to intercept some passes on the kick outs. We also were fortunate they missed a lot of open 3s, but that always plays a part in winning the game.
 
"We'll have to figure out our defensive approach for tomorrow afternoon. How do we want to play that low-post scenario? We'd certainly like to get 17 turnovers again."
 
Ozier, who hit 5-of-8 shots from the floor including 2-of-4 3-pointers, finished with five rebounds and a career-high four steals. Morency made 6-of-11 field-goal attempts to go along with six rebounds (three offensive boards).
 
Harrison produced his third double-double in his last four games with 10 points and a season-high 11 rebounds (four offensive boards). He also matched his season-high with four assists.
 
"Russell Harrison really did a great job of defensive rebounding, particularly in the second half," Richard said. "I said something to him during one of the timeouts because we were in a critical part of the game, and they were missing some 3s. We needed to rebound those missed 3s because of their size. They have 6-10 guys playing the 4 and 5 positions. So, if you don't get the rebound, it's a moot point. We haven't always been good in that department, but rebounding played a big, big part in our second-half defense. Russ really attacked the boards and got some tough-man rebounds. He played a big role in this win."
 
Nicholas came off the bench to contribute 11 points, hitting 5-of-8 shots from the field.
 
Gonzales added 10 points and five assists.
 
"I wish we could have five players score in double figures every night," Richard said. "That would be awesome. It's been a year-long trial-and-error show with all of these new guys (on the roster). We've been teaching them how to play together and share the ball. We've shown enough this year that it's a team you can enjoy watching.
 
"If we could put five guys in double figures every night, we could be a pretty good team with a lot better record."
 
Howell was ULM's unsung hero in Sunday's win, chipping in with eight points off the bench, hitting 4-of-6 shots from the field, and grabbing a key offensive rebound late in the second half.
 
"Thomas Howell made two nice effort plays down the stretch," Richard said. "He had some tip-backs that allowed us to maintain possession and run some more time off the clock. Thomas also hit a big shot from the baseline when Little Rock made a little run.
 
"He continues to do well in transitioning into Division I, and that's an experience in itself for a freshman. Thomas is doing a fine job and playing some important minutes."
 
Maric, who scored 16 second-half points, netted a season-high 24 points on 8-of-13 field-goal shooting to pace Little Rock. Lukic made 6-of-11 shots from the field, including 3-of-7 3s, for 19 points while Ruot Monyyong recorded his 13th double-double of the season with 11 points to go along with 14 rebounds.
 
"I was really happy to see our players enjoy the moment in the locker room following today's win, and I hope they can feel it again tomorrow afternoon," Richard said.
 
ULM will attempt to complete its second Sun Belt series sweep of the season in its home finale against Little Rock on Monday, Feb. 22 at 4 p.m. in Fant-Ewing Coliseum. Prior to the game, ULM's senior class will be honored, including Efretuei, Nicholas and Erie Olonade.
 
General admission tickets are priced at $10.
 
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