Russell Harrison drive vs. Troy 2022
Luke Richard/ULM Athletics
73
Winner Troy TROY 13-5,4-1 Sun Belt
65
La.-Monroe ULM 10-9,2-5 Sun Belt
Winner
Troy TROY
13-5,4-1 Sun Belt
73
Final
65
La.-Monroe ULM
10-9,2-5 Sun Belt
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Troy TROY 43 30 73
La.-Monroe ULM 29 36 65

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Cold Night, Hot Opponent; ULM Falls to First-Place Troy, 73-65

By ULMWarhawks.com Online Columnist Paul Letlow

MONROE La. – All signs pointed up for ULM entering Thursday night's home game with Troy. Coming off an inspiring win at UT Arlington, the Warhawks were back at full strength after playing several games in a row shorthanded due to COVID-19 protocols . For the eighth time this season, ULM deployed its most frequent starting lineup of Elijah Gonzalez, Koreem Ozier, Andre Jones, Russell Harrison and Thomas Howell. But Troy was a visitor eager to wear out its welcome. Thanks to a blistering shooting touch from start to finish, the Trojans claimed a 73-65 win over ULM at Fant-Ewing Coliseum. "We've got to continue to work and find our way defensively," ULM coach Keith Richard said. "Good performance this past Saturday (UTA), bad performance today defensively speaking. Just inconsistent in that area and it's hard to win if you can't be consistent in certain phases of the game. That's one of them." Despite trailing the entire game, ULM made a late run at Troy and pulled within seven after being down double digits the entire second half. However, the Warhawks couldn't climb out of their sinkhole. Troy (13-5, 4-1 Sun Belt) shot 60 percent overall (28-of-47) while making 9-of-19 3-point shots. ULM (10-9, 2-5 Sun Belt) fell to 0-6 when allowing an opponent to shoot better than 50 percent. "You can't give up 60 percent from the field and 47 percent from the 3-point line on your homecourt and expect to win," Richard said. "The offense wasn't much better in the first half." Harrison led ULM with 15 points, Jones scored 13 and Nika Metzkhvarishvili and Ozier added 11 each. Troy jumped on ULM 8-0 early and led by as many as 15 points over the first 10 minutes. The Trojans shot better than 70 percent out of the gate while ambushing the home team. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Duke Deen extended Troy's advantage to 23 points at 39-16 with 7:42 remaining in the half. The Trojans at that juncture were shooting 80 percent (16 of 20) overall and 71 percent on 3-pointers (5 of 7). The Trojans cooled off but still led 43-29 at halftime. Troy was shooting 67 percent at the break, despite a scoring drought over the final 4:24 of the first half. ULM shot 34 percent in the half while sinking just 2-of-13 3-pointers (15 percent). "Obviously, the first half was a disaster for us," Richard said. "It was too big a hole to climb back." Gonzalez energized the crowd when he hooked up with Jones for an alley-oop dunk that cut Troy's lead to 11 with 17:41 to go in the game. ULM wouldn't move closer until an 11-0 run cut the Troy lead to 69-61 with 2:16 remaining on Metzkhvarishvili's putback. A driving layup by Howell at the 1:50 mark made it a seven-point game for the first time since early in the first half, but Troy held off the comeback. Zay Williams led four Trojans in double figures with 18 points. Deen scored 14 while Duke Miles and TK Smith added 11 each. Up next: Continuing a four-game homestand, ULM plays host to South Alabama on Saturday, Jan. 22 at 2 p.m. The Warhawks will enjoy two more home dates next week, with Georgia Southern (Jan. 27) and Georgia State (Jan. 29) visiting Fant-Ewing Coliseum. Tail feathers: Troy outscored ULM 11-5 on points off turnovers in the first half. … ULM had won three straight vs. Troy prior to Thursday's game. The teams met last on Feb. 13, 2020.  … Luke Phillips made his first 3-pointer in conference play. He came in 0-for-6 from beyond the arc in Sun Belt games.
 
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