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ULM Seeks Turnaround in February; Opens Weekend Series at UTA

ULM Seeks Turnaround in February; Opens Weekend Series at UTA

Men's Basketball Feb 05
Games 18-19: ULM (4-13, 2-8 SBC) vs. UTA (9-9, 5-5 SBC) 
Friday, Feb. 5 | 6 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 6 | 4 p.m.
Arlington, Texas | College Park Center (7,000)
Watch: ESPN+ | Listen: KLIP 105.3FM

 
2020-21 ULM Basketball Notes: Games 18-19 vs. UTA
 
STORYLINE –
ULM (4-13, 2-8 SBC) opens a two-game Sun Belt Conference weekend series at UTA (9-9, 5-5 SBC): Friday, Feb. 6 at 6 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 6 at 4 p.m.
 
Since opening Sun Belt play with a home sweep against Arkansas State, the Warhawks have lost eight league games in a row, including four by a combined total of 13 points. ULM is seeking its first win since Jan. 2 (62-55 over A-State).
 
ULM's starting lineup features two double-figure scorers, in forward Russell Harrison (13.5 ppg., 5.5 rpg.) and guard Koreem Ozier (12.9 ppg., 4.4 rpg.). Harrison missed last weekend's Sun Belt series at Little Rock after traveling to  Lubbock, Texas, to celebrate the birth of his first child, son Zyren.
 
THE STARTING FIVE –
• Junior forward Russell Harrison leads ULM in scoring (13.5 points per game), rebounding (5.5 rpg.) and 3-point field goals made (30). The 6-foot-7 Harrison has scored in double figures in 12 of 15 games in 2020-21. He missed last weekend's Sun Belt series at Little Rock after traveling to  Lubbock, Texas, to celebrate the birth of his first child, son Zyren. 
 
Harrison ranks among the Sun Belt Conference's Top 20 in three different statistical categories: seventh in free-throw percentage (.813), 14th in scoring and 16th in rebounding (5.6 pg.).
 
Harrison came off the bench for the first time this season in the series finale against Texas State and finished with 21 points (5-of-14 3-pointers), six rebounds and four assists.
 
The Lubbock, Texas, native set season highs for points (22) and rebounds (9) in the home opener against Lamar.
 
• Junior guard Koreem Ozier ranks second on the team in scoring (12.9 points per game), 3-point field goals made (27), rebounding (4.4 rpg.) and assists (2.8 apg.). The 6-foot-1 Ozier ranks among the Sun Belt Conference's Top 20 in minutes played (third at 34.5 pg.) and 3-point field-goal percentage (14th at .397) and scoring (tied for 17th).
 
He is averaging 14.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game in Sun Belt play while shooting 47 percent (51-of-110) from the field, including 40 percent (18-of-45) from behind the 3-point arc.
 
Ozier, who ranks as the only Warhawk to have started all 17 games, has posted double figures 11 times, including seven straight during one stretch. He scored a season-high 28 points in ULM's 66-55 victory over SFA, hitting 9-of-13 shots from the floor, including 4-of-5 3-pointers, and all six free-throw attempts.
 
• Junior guard Elijah Gonzales leads the Warhawks in assists (57) and steals (36). The 5-foot-11 Gonzales also has made 15-of-32 3-point field-goal attempts (.469).
 
The transfer from Clarendon College ranks among the Sun Belt Conference's Top 10 in assist-to-turnover ratio (tied for first at 2.4), steals (seventh at 2.1 per game) and assists (11th at 3.4 pg.).
 
Gonzales has posted double figures in scoring three times, including 16 points each against Stephen F. Austin and in the series finale at Arkansas State (6-of-11 FG shooting).
 
• In league games, ULM ranks among the Sun Belt Conference leaders in assist-to-turnover ratio (second at 1.2), turnover margin (second at +2.1 pg.), free-throw percentage (fifth at .742), assists (fourth at 13.9 pg.), steals (tied for fourth at 7.5 pg.), 3-point field-goal percentage (sixth at .353) and 3-point field goals made (tied for sixth at 7.6 pg.).
 
• Throughout preseason practice, ULM head coach Keith Richard noted the improved depth on the 2020-21 roster. Take a look his playing rotation through the first 17 games and you'll see nine different players are logging at least 14 minutes per game. In addition, the Warhawk bench has outscored the opponent's reserves in nine of the first 17 games while providing 22.1 points per game. The bench has accounted for more than 30 points in three games: 36 points in the series finale at Arkansas State, a season-high 39 points in ULM's 84-72 victory over Arkansas State in the Sun Belt Conference opener and 38 in a 92-83 overtime win at Northwestern State.
 
ULM/UT ARLINGTON SERIES NOTES –
Friday's game marks the 76th meeting between ULM and UT Arlington. The Warhawks lead the all-time series, 51-24, including a 19-13 record in games played in Arlington. UTA has won eight of the last nine meetings, including the last five in a row. Overall, the Mavericks has won 12 of the last 17 games in the series.
 
ULM's last win in Arlington came on Feb. 20, 2016, 64-61.
 
FIRST SERIES RECAP –
Game 1 | UTA 77, ULM 64 (Jan. 8, 2021, in Monroe, La.): Shahada Wells and Sam Griffin combined for 43 points to lead UT Arlington to a 77-64 win over ULM in the opening game of a Sun Belt Conference weekend series.
 
UTA (5-6, 1-2 Sun Belt) seized control of the game with an early 16-0 run. Griffin, who hit three consecutive 3s, and Wells combined to score 15 of those 16 points. A steal and layup by Wells gave the Mavericks an 18-5 lead with 13:25 left in the first half. UTA made 6-of-8 field-goal attempts during that decisive stretch while ULM went 0-for-7 from the floor and committed three turnovers. The Warhawks went 5:45 between made field goals.
 
Trailing 21-7, Russell Harrison sparked a 6-0 spurt with a hard drive to the basket for a layup and Josh Nicholas and Elijah Gonzales followed with layups as ULM (4-6, 2-1) cut its deficit to eight at 21-13 with 9:27 remaining in the first half. The Warhawks again managed to pull to within eight at 27-19 on a layup by Luke Phillips with 4:21 to go in the opening half, but that was the closest ULM would get the rest of the night.
 
McKade Marquis hit a pull-up jumper from outside the lane with :02 left to send UTA to the locker room with a 16-point halftime lead, 42-26.
 
The Mavs, who shot 57 percent (16-of-28) from the field including 50 percent (5-of-10) from behind the 3-point arc, got 15 first-half points from Griffin. UTA also converted ULM's seven first-half turnovers into 13 points. The Warhawks made 10-of-29 shots (34 percent) from the floor, including just 2-of-12 3-pointers (17 percent), in the first 20 minutes.
 
UTA led by as many as 20 points on three occasions in the second half. ULM scored six-straight points to pull within 69-57 on Koreem Ozier's 15-foot jumper from the right baseline with 3:48 left, but the Warhawks failed to get the margin into single digits despite shooting 55 percent (16-of-29) from the field in the second half.
 
For the game, the Mavs shot 49 percent (28-of-57) from the floor, including 10-of-21 3-pointers (48 percent, while outrebounding ULM, 37-26. The Warhawks struggled shooting the 3 all night and finished 5-of-23 from 3-point range (22 percent).
 
Wells, who hit 10-of-16 field-goal attempts, finished with 25 points, with 17 of those coming in the second half. Griffin added 18 points, hitting 4-of-10 3-pointers, and eight assists.
 
UTA also got 12 points and eight rebounds from Patrick Mwamba.
 
Nicholas scored a career-high 23 points to pace the Warhawks, hitting 11-of-16 shots from the floor. He poured in 15 second-half points.
 
Ozier, who reached double figures for his fourth-straight game, netted 16 points to go along with a career-high eight assists.
 
Game 2 | UTA 75, ULM 74 (Jan. 9, 2021, in Monroe, La.): Shahada Wells stole the ball on a busted inbounds play and fed Fredelin De La Cruz with a bounce pass for the game-winner as UTA rallied past ULM 75-74 on Saturday to complete the Sun Belt weekend series sweep.
Sam Griffin led the Mavericks with 18 points, Jordan Phillips added 16, De La Cruz chipped in 12, Wells 11 and Patrick Mwamba had 10. Wells also had seven assists and six rebounds.
 
ULM still had 5.9 seconds to answer, but lost the ball off a foot and time ran out in a scramble for the loose ball.
 
Josh Nicholas had 19 points for the Warhawks (4-7, 2-2 Sun Belt Conference). Koreem Ozier added 15 points while Russell Harrison had 15 points.
 
THE LAST TIME MEETING IN COLLEGE PARK CENTER –
UT Arlington 68, ULM 54 (Feb. 1, 2020, in Arlington, Texas): Sam Griffin and Radshad Davis combined for 32 points while Jabari Narcis recorded his fifth double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds as UT Arlington completed the regular-season sweep over ULM with a 68-54 victory last Saturday. UTA also made 13-of-28 3-point field-goal attempts.
 
ULM got off to a quick start as Jalen Hodge buried back-to-back 3-pointers and Chris Efretuei converted a layup off a pass from Hodge as the Warhawks jumped out to an 8-5 lead in the first 2 1/2 minutes. With the score tied at 10, UTA put together a 10-2 run and took a 20-12 lead as Narcis rattled in a 3 from the top of the circle with 13:07 on the clock. The Warhawks answered with an 11-4 spurt and cut their deficit to one at 24-23 on Erie Olonade's layup with 7:36 to play in the opening half. After the teams traded baskets, UTA (10-13, 6-6 Sun Belt) outscored ULM, 9-0, over the final 5:27 and took a 35-25 lead into halftime. The Warhawks misfired on their last 10 field-goal attempts of the first half.
 
ULM (6-15, 2-10) managed to trim its deficit to seven points twice in the second half – the last time at 44-37 on Michael Ertel's 15-foot jumper from the right wing with 12:58 remaining. TiAndre Jackson-Young's 3-pointer from the right wing sparked a 12-1 run as Mavericks built an 18-point lead at 56-38 on a transition 3 from Davis out of the left corner with 9:05 to play. ULM went without a field goal for 5:39, missing five-straight shots and committing three turnovers during the stretch. Another 3-pointer from Narcis gave UTA its largest lead at 64-43 with 5:14 left.
 
Griffin hit 6-of-9 shots from the field, including 4-of-7 3-pointers, and finished with a game-high 17 points to pace the Mavs. Davis came off the UTA bench to contribute 15 points, connecting on 5-of-7 field-goal attempts, including a perfect 4-for-4 from behind the 3-point arc.
 
Tyree White led ULM in scoring for the fifth time in the last six games with 11 points to go along with seven rebounds. The Warhawks also got 10 points from Ertel.
 
ULM played its second-straight game without its second-leading scorer (14.1 points per game) and rebounder (5.2 per game), in JD Williams, who suffered a season-ending ankle injury early in the first half of last Saturday's game at Louisiana Lafayette.
 
The Warhawks' backcourt experienced another setback against UTA as Hodge left the game midway through the first half with a hyperextended knee and didn't return.
 
For the game, ULM shot 40 percent (23-of-57) from the floor but made only 4-of-14 3-pointers (29 percent). The Warhawks outrebounded the Mavs, 37-30.
 
 
2020-21 ULM STARTING LINEUPS –
Dec. 3 at Louisiana Tech: Olonade, Ozier, Morency, Harrison, Efretuei
Dec. 6 at Northwestern State: Olonade, Ozier, Morency, Harrison, Howell
Dec. 9 vs. Lamar: Olonade, Ozier, Morency, Harrison, Efretuei
Dec. 12 vs. Stephen F. Austin: Nicholas, Ozier, Morency, Harrison, Efretuei
Dec. 16 vs. Grambling State: Gonzales, Ozier, Morency, Harrison, Efretuei
Dec. 19 at Southern Miss: Olonade, Ozier, Harrison, Howell, Efretuei
Dec. 22 vs. Louisiana Tech: Olonade, Ozier, Harrison, Howell, Efretuei
Jan. 1 vs. Arkansas State: Olonade, Ozier, Harrison, Howell, Efretuei
Jan. 2 vs. Arkansas State: Olonade, Ozier, Nicholas, Harrison, Efretuei
Jan. 8 vs. UT Arlington: Olonade, Ozier, Nicholas, Harrison, Efretuei
Jan. 9 vs. UT Arlington: Olonade, Ozier, Nicholas, Harrison, Efretuei
Jan. 15 at Arkansas State: Olonade, Ozier, Nicholas, Harrison, Efretuei
Jan. 16 at Arkansas State: Olonade, Ozier, Nicholas, Harrison, Efretuei
Jan. 22 vs. Texas State: Olonade, Ozier, Nicholas, Harrison, Efretuei
Jan. 23 vs. Texas State: Gonzales, Ozier, Morency, Phillips, Efretuei
Jan. 29 at Little Rock: Gonzales, Ozier, Morency, Phillips, Efretuei
Jan. 30 at Little Rock: Gonzales, Ozier, Morency, Phillips, Efretuei
                                
Different Starting Combinations (7):
Olonade, Ozier, Morency, Harrison, Efretuei: 2 (0-2)
Olonade, Ozier, Morency, Harrison, Howell: 1 (1-0)
Nicholas, Ozier, Morency, Harrison, Efretuei: 1 (1-0)
Gonzales, Ozier, Morency, Harrison, Efretuei: 1 (0-1)
Olonade, Ozier, Harrison, Howell, Efretuei: 3 (1-2)
Olonade, Ozier, Nicholas, Harrison, Efretuei: 6 (1-5)
Gonzales, Ozier, Morency, Phillips, Efretuei: 3 (0-3)
 
2020-21 WARHAWK STATISTICAL TRENDS –
Games played in Fant-Ewing Coliseum: 3-7
Games played on the road: 1-6
Games played at a neutral site: 0-0                    
 
Games played in December: 2-5
Games played in January: 2-8
Games played in February: 0-0
Games played in March: 0-0                              
 
When leading at halftime: 2-1
When trailing at halftime: 2-12
When tied at halftime: 0-0
 
When shooting .500 or better from the field: 1-0
When shooting less than .500 from the field: 3-13
When opponent shoots .500 or better from the field: 0-3
When opponent shoots less than .500 from the floor: 4-10
 
When outrebounding opponent: 1-1
When outrebounded by opponent: 2-12
When rebounding totals are equal: 1-0
 
When hitting more free throws than opponent: 2-2
When hitting fewer free throws than opponent: 2-10
When hitting the same number of free throws as opponent: 0-1
 
When committing fewer turnovers than opponent: 3-9                    
When opponent commits fewer turnovers: 1-4
When turnover totals are equal: 0-0
 
When ULM scores less than 50 points: 0-3         
When ULM scores 50-59 points: 0-1
When ULM scores 60-69 points: 2-6
When ULM scores 70-79 points: 0-3
When ULM scores 80-89 points: 1-0
When ULM scores 90-99 points: 1-0
 
When opponent scores less than 50 points: 0-0  
When opponent scores 50-59 points: 2-1
When opponent scores 60-69 points: 0-6
When opponent scores 70-79 points: 1-5
When opponent scores 80-89 points: 1-0
When opponent scores 90-99 points: 0-1
 
Games decided by five points or less: 0-4
Games decided by 6-10 points: 2-2
Games decided by 11-19 points: 2-6
Games decided by 20 points or more: 0-1
 
Last five games: 0-5                                                 
Last 10 games: 2-8
 
Largest deficit overcome to win: 8 (12-4 vs. Arkansas State, Jan. 1)
Largest lead surrendered in a loss: 13 (38-25 vs. Lamar, Dec. 9)
  
 
 
 
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