Nika Metskhvarishvili baseline jumper vs UTA 2022
Luke Richard/ULM Athletics
62
Winner La.-Monroe ULM 10-8,2-4 Sun Belt
55
UT Arlington UTA 8-9,4-2 Sun Belt
Winner
La.-Monroe ULM
10-8,2-4 Sun Belt
62
Final
55
UT Arlington UTA
8-9,4-2 Sun Belt
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 F
La.-Monroe ULM 24 22 16 62
UT Arlington UTA 25 21 9 55

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Short-Handed ULM Stuns League-Leading UTA in Overtime, 62-55

ARLINGTON, Texas – Nika Metskhvarishvili scored a career-high 23 points and Russell Harrison recorded his seventh career double-double with 17 points and a career-best 13 rebounds as ULM defeated Sun Belt Conference-leader UT Arlington in overtime, 62-55, Saturday afternoon.
 
The Warhawks snapped a two-game losing streak in league play while ending a seven-game losing skid against the Mavericks by posting their first win in College Park Center since Feb. 20, 2016, 64-61.
 
It also marked ULM's first overtime victory in Sun Belt play since Feb. 8, 2018, when the Warhawks outlasted Georgia Southern, 66-64, in Statesboro.
 
ULM played Saturday's game with only seven scholarship players. Starting guards Andre Jones and Koreem Ozier, who combine to average nearly 26 points per game, missed their second-straight game due to COVID protocols while guard Langston Powell, who started Thursday at Texas State, was a game-day scratch after developing flu-like symptoms.
 
There were 10 lead changes and four ties in this defensive struggle. The largest lead enjoyed by either team during regulation was only six points.
 
ULM (10-8, 2-4 Sun Belt) put together a 9-0 run, with Metskhvarishvili accounting for seven points, to take a 19-14 lead with 5:19 left in the first half. Luke Phillips hit an 8-foot bank shot from left of the lane, off an assist from Elijah Gonzales, as the Warhawks built a 22-16 advantage with 2:23 on the clock. Carson Bischoff connected on a 3-pointer from the right wing to spark a 9-2 run over the final 2:05 as UTA (8-9, 4-2) took a 25-24 lead into the intermission.
 
The Mavericks scored the first five points of the second half and grabbed a 30-24 lead on Patrick Mwamba's traditional three-point play with 19:27 on the clock. Thomas Howell scored off a give-and-go from Metskhvarishvili to fuel a 9-2 spurt as ULM regained the lead at 38-37 on D'Marcus Hall's 12-foot fall-away jumper off an inbounds pass from Phillips with 8:12 left. It marked the Warhawks' first lead since 22-21 at the 1:42 mark in the opening half. UTA got back-to-back 3s from Mwamba and Nicolas Elame to reclaim a 43-38 advantage with 5:17 remaining. ULM cut its deficit to 46-44 on Howell's layup from Gonzales with 1:26 to play in regulation. Javon Levi missed the front end of a one-and-one with 24 seconds left, and with 12 seconds to go, Gonzales again found Howell for a layup to tie the score at 46-all. In the closing seconds, UTA's Brandyn Talbot missed an off-balance 3-pointer; Levi collected the long rebound and misfired on a shot from inside the paint.
 
"On our final possession in regulation, I was surveying the floor and saw Thomas Howell break wide open inside," ULM guard Elijah Gonzales said. "So, I delivered the ball to Thomas and trusted him to finish the layup."
 
ULM seized control of the game by scoring the first seven points in overtime. Howell hit a pair of free throws, Metskhvarishvili hit a right-handed hook shot from inside the lane and buried a deep 3-pointer from beyond the top of the circle as the Warhawks grabbed a 53-46 lead with 1:31 left in the extra period. ULM converted 7-of-8 free-throw attempts in the final 56 seconds to seal the victory, with Harrison hitting 5-of-6 from the stripe. His two free throws with 23 seconds on the clock gave the Warhawks' their biggest lead of the game at 62-53.
 
"That's as proud as I've been of a basketball team in a long time," ULM head coach Keith Richard said. "They played their tails off. We had a game plan to shorten the game. Like in football, one team tries to run ball a lot and play keep away from the other team. That was our approach and I thought we did just that really on both ends of the floor. We wanted a low-possession game and we got one.
 
"Before the game, I told the team that one of the greatest games I've ever been involved in as a coach as a 49-46 win a long, long time ago. I told them that's the kind of game we needed this afternoon. When regulation ended with the score tied 46-46, I said we're right where we want to be.
 
"With all the COVID issues we've been managing and Langston Powell being out today, guys who haven't played a lot of minutes had to play extended minutes today," Richard continued. "All seven guys contributed to the win. There were a lot of big plays made on both ends of the floor."
 
Metskhvarishvili and Harrison each netted seven points in overtime, accounting for 14 of ULM's 16 points. The Warhawks hit 3-of-7 field-goal attempts and 9-of-10 free-throws during the extra period while UTA went 1-of-5 from the floor, including 1-of-4 3s.
 
"Nika Mets made some big-time plays," Richard said. "Russell Harrison grabbed some key rebounds and hit some big free throws down the stretch in overtime."
 
For the game, ULM shot 38 percent (20-of-53) from the field, including 5-of-18 from 3-point range (28 percent), and 68 percent (17-fo-25) from the free-throw line. The Warhawks limited UTA to 17-fo-60 field-goal shooting (28 percent), including 8-of-33 3-pointers (24 percent). The Mavs went just 13-of-24 (54 percent) from the charity stripe. After being outrebounded by six in the first half, ULM finished the game with a rebound margin of plus-1, 45-44. UTA grabbed 18 offensive rebounds but managed only eight second-half points. The Warhawks also outscored the Mavs inside the paint, 28-16.
 
"We played a tight, man-to-man because we needed to take away their dribble penetration," Richard said. "We figured we'd take a chance on them shooting the ball well from the outside. They're a really good team at driving the ball to the basket. For the most part, we did a great job of cutting off those angles and making them take outside shots. They made some, but they missed a bunch too, especially when they needed them. From there, it came down to rebounding, and we rebounded well down the stretch in regulation and overtime.
 
"It's difficult to guard those guys one-on-one, especially because their guards drive the ball so hard. It almost takes two defenders to take away the drive. It's like the old gap defense. We tried to fill the gaps and force them to kick the ball out to the perimeter. Two defenders really had to show, so the ball would be kicked back out. We did it a lot and it bothered them for a good part of the game. They got inside for some baskets at the start of the second half, but we regrouped and got back into that tight defense. Then, it came down to making plays on the offensive end.
 
"There wasn't great shooting by either team," Richard continued. "It was a tough, defensive battle, but we made enough of plays in critical moments. I'm really proud of how these players responded to all the adversity. This is a big win for us. Hopefully, we'll get a couple guys back next week as we prepare to open an important, four-game homestand. This was a nice way to close out a difficult road trip."
 
Metskhvarishvili posted his fourth 20-point game of the season, including his third against Sun Belt opponents. He made 6-of-15 shots from the field, including 3-of-6 3s, and 8-of-11 free-throw attempts.
 
Harrison, who produced his third double-double of the season, has scored in double figures in 11 of his last 12 games. The Warhawks also got 10 points from Howell, who hit 4-of-7 field-goal attempts. Metskhvarishvili, Harrison and Howell combined to score 50 of the Warhawks' 62 points.
 
"It's easy to distribute the basketball when you have so many scoring options," Gonzales said. "We work on those open-floor situations every day. I tell those guys all the time if you're open, then take the shot with confidence. I will keep feeding you the ball because I trust you. Nika, Russell and Thomas all stepped up and made big plays when the team needed them.
 
"Hopefully, a win like this can turn the tide for our season."
 
Gonzales, who played the full 45 minutes, contributed five points, six rebounds, nine assists and two steals.
 
"Elijah Gonzales played all 45 minutes, which he could do because it was a low-possession game," Richard said. "I explained to him before the game that we wouldn't be doing a lot of running because he needed to save some gas in his tank."
 
"That was an amazing win," Gonzales said. "We told ourselves we had to play lock-down defense to win this game. That's a talented offensive team, with a lot of scoring options. We did a good job of keeping in front of them for the whole game, and we accomplished that because we trusted each other defensively."
 
Williams, who had played a total of 50 minutes in five previous games, made his first career start and logged a career-best 41 minutes.
 
"Johnnie Williams played really good on the defensive end of the floor, and he was asked to guard their perimeter shooters a lot," Richard said.
 
Mwamba, who connected on 6-of-18 shots from the floor including 3-of-10 3-pointers, paced the Mavericks with 20 points.
 
ULM plays its next four Sun Belt games in Fant-Ewing Coliseum. Next week, the Warhawks entertain Troy on Thursday, Jan. 20 at 6:30 p.m., followed by South Alabama on Saturday, Jan. 22 at 2 p.m.
 
 
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