ULM Faces South Alabama in SBC Championship First Round

Men's Basketball Mar 04

Games 26: ULM (7-18, 5-13 SBC) vs. South Alabama (16-10, 10-7 SBC)
2021 Sun Belt Conference Championship
Friday, March 5 | 5:30 p.m.
Pensacola, Fla. | Pensacola Bay Center (10,000)
Watch: ESPN+ | Listen: KLIP 105.3FM

2020-21 ULM Basketball Notes: Game 26 vs. South Alabama

STORYLINE –
West No. 6-seed ULM (7-18, 5-13 SBC) meets East No. 3-seed South Alabama (16-10, 10-7 SBC) in the first round of the 2021 Sun Belt Conference Championship in Pensacola, Florida. The winner will advance to face West No. 2-seed Ragin' Cajuns in one of Saturday's quarterfinals.

With the divisional-scheduling format in 2020-21, ULM and South Alabama didn't meet during the regular season. The two teams split the regular-season series in 2019-20, with the Warhawks winning in Fant-Ewing Coliseum, 69-49, and the Jaguars in Mobile, 50-49.

ULM joins Little Rock as the only teams to play a complete 18-game Sun Belt Conference regular-season schedule.

THE STARTING FIVE –
• Junior forward Russell Harrison leads ULM in scoring (12.4 points per game), rebounding (5.8 rpg.) and 3-point field goals made (41). The 6-foot-7 Harrison has scored in double figures 18 times. He has led the Warhawks in scoring in 11 games and rebounding 11 times.

He ranks among the Sun Belt Conference's Top 20 in four different statistical categories: eighth in free-throw percentage (.773), 12th in 3-point field goals made (1.8 pg.), 14th in rebounding and 18th in scoring.

The transfer from Clarendon College produced his third double-double of the season with 10 points and a season-high 11 rebounds (four offensive boards) in ULM's 78-76 series-opening win over Little Rock. He also matched his season-high with four assists.

Harrison averaged 17.0 points and 6.5 rebounds as ULM earned a series split against the Ragin' Cajuns. In the series finale against Louisiana Lafayette, Harrison reached double figures for his fifth-straight game, hitting 8-of-14 field-goal attempts and finishing with 17 points to pace the Warhawks. He recorded a double-double with a game-high 17 points to go along with 10 rebounds as ULM ended a 10-game losing streak in Sun Belt play with a 72-66 victory over the Ragin' Cajuns in the series opener in the Cajundome. Harrison became the first Warhawk to record back-to-back double-doubles since Sam McDaniel accomplished the feat in consecutive road games at Coppin State (21 points and 10 rebounds) and VCU (15 and 10) during the 2016-17 season.

He recorded his first career double-double as a Warhawk in the series finale at UTA, finishing with 12 points and a season-high 10 rebounds.

Harrison missed the weekend Sun Belt series at Little Rock after traveling to his hometown of Lubbock, Texas, to celebrate the birth of his first child, son Zyren.

He came off the bench for the first time this season in the series finale against Texas State and contributed 21 points (5-of-14 3-pointers), six rebounds and four assists.

Harrison scored a season-high 22 points and collected nine rebounds in the home opener against Lamar.

• Junior guard Koreem Ozier ranks second on the team in scoring (11.6 points per game), 3-point field goals made (38), rebounding (4.1 rpg.), assists (66) and steals (32). The 6-foot-1 Ozier ranks among the Sun Belt Conference leaders in minutes played (ninth at 32.7 pg.) and scoring (23rd).
He averaged 11.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game in Sun Belt play while shooting 44 percent (79-of-178) from the field, including 34 percent (29-of-86) from behind the 3-point arc.

In ULM's 78-66 series-opening victory over Little Rock, Ozier hit 5-of-8 shots from the floor, including 2-of-4 3-pointers, and finished with 14 points, five rebounds and a career-high four steals.

The Racine, Wisconsin, native eclipsed the 1,000-point career milestone with his 15-point effort in ULM's 72-66 win at Louisiana Lafayette. Ozier hit 6-of-12 field-goal attempts against the Ragin' Cajuns, including 3-of-7 3s. He scored 756 points in 54 games at Sacred Heart University before transferring to ULM.

Ozier, who has started 24 of 25 games, has posted double figures 14 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 (96), steals (50) and 3-point field-goal percentage (.463; 25-of-54). The 5-foot-11 Gonzales ranks among the Sun Belt Conference's Top 5 in 3-point field-goal percentage (second), assist-to-turnover ratio (third at 2.1), assists (fifth at 3.8 pg.) and steals (fifth at 2.0 per game).

The transfer from Clarendon College averaged 10.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game in ULM's series sweep against Little Rock. He added 10 points and five assists in the series opener against the Trojans. In the home finale against Little Rock, Gonzales tallied 10 points, a career-best six rebounds and matched his season high with seven assists.

He averaged 13.5 points and 5.0 assists in ULM's recent series against the Ragin' Cajuns. In the series finale against ULL, Gonzales contributed 15 points (5-of-11 FG shooting including 3-of-5 3-pointers) and five assists. He added 12 points, five assists and three steals in the series opener, as the Warhawks recorded their first win in Lafayette since Jan. 19, 2015, 57-55. Gonzales converted 6-of-7 free-throw attempts in the final 37 seconds to ice the game in the Cajundome.

Gonzales has posted double figures in scoring seven times, including 16 points each against Stephen F. Austin and in the series finale at Arkansas State (6-of-11 FG shooting).

• Down the stretch, freshman Thomas Howell has added some scoring punch to the lineup, averaging 6.9 points over the last seven games while shooting an impressive 73 percent (22-of-30) from the field.

The 6-foot-8 Howell connected 3-of-5 shots from the field in the regular-season finale at Texas State while contributing seven points, three rebounds and a season-high three steals.

He hit all three of his field-goal attempts for six points in the series finale against Louisiana Lafayette. In the series-opening win in the Cajundome, Howell came off the bench to score in double figures for his second-straight game, finishing with 11 points on 5-of-8 field-goal shooting

Howell went 5-for-5 from the floor for 10 points in 17 minutes in the series finale at UTA. He also collected three offensive rebounds.

For the season, 34 of his 73 rebounds (47 percent) have come off the offensive glass.

• Throughout preseason practice, ULM head coach Keith Richard noted the improved depth on the 2020-21 roster. Take a look at his playing rotation through the regular season and you'll see eight different players are logging at least 13 minutes per game. In addition, the Warhawk bench has outscored the opponent's reserves in 16 of 25 games while providing 22.4 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. In the recent series sweep against Little Rock, ULM held a 49-15 advantage in bench scoring.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS –
• On a minutes-played basis, senior Josh Nicholas' statistics are equivalent to 17.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.

The 6-foot-3 Nicholas has scored in double figures 14 times, including eight of his last 10 games. He is averaging 11.8 points during that 10-game stretch while hitting 50 percent of his field-goal attempts (43-of-86), including 44 percent (16-of-36) from behind the 3-point arc.

Nicholas averaged 11.1 points in Sun Belt Conference play and his .493 field-goal percentage (75-of-152) ranks 11th overall in league games.

• On a minutes-played basis, junior Marco Morency's statistics are equivalent to 13.0 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game.

The 6-foot-3 Morency averaged 13.0 points and 4.5 rebounds over the last four games of the regular season while shooting 53 percent (21-of-40) from the floor.

• Senior center Chris Efretuei has recorded a career-best 31 blocked shots. The 7-foot-1 Efretuei ranks sixth in the Sun Belt Conference in blocked shots, averaging 1.3 per game.

• In league games, ULM ranked among the Sun Belt Conference leaders in assists (third at 14.3 pg.), steals (third at 7.7 pg.), turnover margin (third at +1.4 pg.), scoring defense (fourth at 68.2 ppg.), assist-to-turnover ratio (fourth at 1.1), field-goal percentage (sixth at .428), 3-point field-goal percentage (sixth at .351) and free-throw percentage (sixth at .732).

• Despite the COVID-19 restrictions, ULM led the Sun Belt Conference in both overall average home attendance (1,076 per game) and attendance for league home games (1,132 per game).

ULM/SUN BELT CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY –
ULM is making its 14th appearance in Sun Belt Conference Championship history. The Warhawks are 8-12 all-time (.400) in the conference's postseason tournament, including two trips to the semifinals (2015 and 2016) and one championship game appearance (2016).

ULM/SOUTH ALABAMA SERIES NOTES –
Friday's game marks the 28th meeting between ULM and South Alabama. The Warhawks lead the all-time series, 14-13, including a 1-0 record in games played in Sun Belt Conference Championship. ULM has won 10 of the last 13 meetings overall.

With the divisional-scheduling format in 2020-21, ULM and South Alabama didn't meet during the regular season.

ULM and South Alabama split the regular-season series in 2019-20, with the Warhawks in Fant-Ewing Coliseum, 69-49, and the Jaguars in Mobile, 50-49.

2019-20 ULM/USA SERIES RECAPS –
Game 1 | ULM 69, South Alabama 49 (Jan. 4, 2020, in Monroe, La.): Michael Ertel snapped out of a mild scoring slump Saturday afternoon to have the biggest game of his ULM career.

The junior guard scored a career-high 39 points and dropped 11 3-pointers to set a school record as ULM stopped South Alabama 69-49 at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.

Ertel's 11 3s also tied the Sun Belt's single-game record for league play and are the most made by an NCAA Division I player this season.

South Alabama deployed a zone defense against ULM and Ertel busted it, again and again.

With his mother and two sisters looking on from the stands, Ertel made 11-of-21 3-pointers and shot 14-of-24 overall while erasing his previous career highs of 26 points and six 3-pointers. His stat line also included six assists.

Beyond Ertel's breakout, JD Williams added 14 points with eight rebounds and a career-best seven assists.

With South Alabama remaining in a zone and the Warhawks launching from the perimeter, ULM didn't attempt a free throw.

South Alabama, the Sun Belt's preseason favorite to win the conference, fell to 8-7 and 1-3. Chad Lott's 13 points led the Jaguars, who shot 38.3 percent from the floor.

Ertel set the tone early as he scored 20 of ULM's first 25 points with six 3-pointers and the Warhawks surged ahead 25-11.

Meanwhile, USA missed five-straight field-goal attempts during a scoring drought that lasted nearly five minutes. A bucket by White punctuated an 11-0 run that extended ULM's lead to 27-11. ULM led by as many as 21 points, 33-12, at 6:50 mark.

ULM led 40-24 at halftime after nailing 10-of-15 3-pointers and shooting 63 percent overall (15-of-24). Ertel needed just 20 minutes to eclipse his career high of 26 points in the opening half with 28 points on 8-of-10 shooting from 3-point range.

Ertel made more 3-pointers in the first half alone (8) than he'd made in his last six games combined (7-of-23).

The second half started off with more of the same as Ertel stroked his ninth and 10th 3-pointers in the early going. Ertel's record-breaking 3-pointer fell with 11 minutes remaining in the game, giving him 39 points.

Game 2 | USA 50, ULM 49 (Feb. 15, 2020, in Mobile, Ala.): South Alabama 50, ULM 49 (Feb. 15 in Mobile, Ala.): KK Curry scored his only field goal of the game on a putback off a missed free throw with 0.5 seconds left to give South Alabma a 50-49 win over ULM Saturday (Feb. 15) afternoon. The Warhawks, who led for nearly 37 1/2 minutes, went without a field goal over the last 2:54 and hit only 1-of-4 free-throw attempts down the stretch.

It marked ULM's eighth game decided by five points or less this season (2-6 record).

ULM, which was seeking its second-straight road win, jumped out to a 7-2 lead on Tyree White's 15-foot jumper from the left elbow with 16:31 remaining in the first half. The Warhawks put together a 12-2 run to build its largest lead at 19-7 on Michael Ertel's fall-away jumper in the lane with 10:33 left. Tyreke Locure's 3-pointer from the right wing sparked a 10-0 spurt as South Alabama cut its deficit to 19-17 on Trhae Mitchell's layup with 2:32 to play in the opening half. ULM went scoreless for 8:24, misfiring on nine-straight shots from the field and committing three turnovers. The Jaguars took their first lead at 23-22 as Andre Fox connected on back-to-back 3s. The Warhawks regained the lead at 24-23 on two free throws from D'Andre Bernard with 37 seconds on the clock, but USA took a 25-24 lead into the locker room as Mitchell converted two free throws with 12 seconds left in the first half.

ULM made only one of its last 12 field-goal attempts and finished the first half shooting just 29 percent (8-of-28) from the floor. USA, which also struggled to find an offensive rhythm, went 9-of-28 from the field (32 percent) in the first 20 minutes.

The Warhawks opened the second half with a 10-0 run and took a 35-25 lead on Chris Efretuei's layup, off a nifty pass from Tyree White, with 16:13 left. USA (16-11, 9-7 Sun Belt) answered with a 14-6 spurt and pulled to within 41-39 John Pettway's fast-break dunk with 9:11 on the clock. ULM (7-18, 3-13) extended its lead to 48-43 on Ertel's 3-pointer from the left wing with 2:54 to play. USA outscored the Warhawks, 7-1, over the final 2 1/2 minutes to steal the win. With 3.3 seconds remaining, Mitchell hit the first of two free-throw attempts and Curry grabbed the offensive rebound to set up his game-winning basket.

Mitchell recorded a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds to pace the Jaguars. Fox came off the bench to score 12 points for USA.

ULM got 13 points from Ertel and 10 points from Langston Powell.

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
Feb. 5 at UT Arlington: Gonzales, Ozier, Morency, Harrison, Efretuei
Feb. 6 at UT Arlington: Gonzales, Ozier, Morency, Harrison, Efretuei
Feb. 11 at Ragin' Cajuns: Gonzales, Ozier, Morency, Harrison, Efretuei
Feb. 13 vs. Ragin' Cajuns: Gonzales, Ozier, Morency, Harrison, Efretuei
Feb. 21 vs. Little Rock: Gonzales, Ozier, Morency, Harrison, Efretuei
Feb. 22 vs. Little Rock: Gonzales, Ozier, Nicholas, Harrison, Efretuei
Feb. 26 at Texas State: Gonzales, Ozier, Morency, Harrison, Efretuei
Feb. 27 at Texas State: Gonzales, Nicholas, Morency, Powell, Phillips

Different Starting Combinations (8):
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: 7 (2-5)
Olonade, Ozier, Harrison, Howell, Efretuei: 3 (1-2)
Olonade, Ozier, Nicholas, Harrison, Efretuei: 7 (2-5)
Gonzales, Ozier, Morency, Phillips, Efretuei: 3 (0-3)
Gonzales, Nicholas, Morency, Powell, Phillips: 1 (0-1)

2020-21 WARHAWK STATISTICAL TRENDS –
Games played in Fant-Ewing Coliseum: 5-8
Games played on the road: 2-10
Games played at a neutral site: 0-0

Games played in December: 2-5
Games played in January: 2-8
Games played in February: 3-5
Games played in March: 0-0

When leading at halftime: 4-4
When trailing at halftime: 3-14
When tied at halftime: 0-0

When shooting .500 or better from the field: 2-1
When shooting less than .500 from the field: 5-17
When opponent shoots .500 or better from the field: 2-4
When opponent shoots less than .500 from the floor: 5-14

When outrebounding opponent: 1-2
When outrebounded by opponent: 4-16
When rebounding totals are equal: 2-0

When hitting more free throws than opponent: 2-3
When hitting fewer free throws than opponent: 5-14
When hitting the same number of free throws as opponent: 0-1

When committing fewer turnovers than opponent: 6-13
When opponent commits fewer turnovers: 1-5
When turnover totals are equal: 0-0

When ULM scores less than 50 points: 0-4
When ULM scores 50-59 points: 0-4
When ULM scores 60-69 points: 3-6
When ULM scores 70-79 points: 2-4
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: 2-3
When opponent scores 60-69 points: 3-8
When opponent scores 70-79 points: 1-5
When opponent scores 80-89 points: 1-1
When opponent scores 90-99 points: 0-1

Games decided by five points or less: 1-5
Games decided by 6-10 points: 3-5
Games decided by 11-19 points: 3-7
Games decided by 20 points or more: 0-1

Last five games: 2-3
Last 10 games: 3-7

Largest deficit overcome to win: 9 (45-36 and 47-38 vs. Little Rock, Feb. 22)
Largest lead surrendered in a loss: 13 (38-25 vs. Lamar, Dec. 9)

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