Dallas Christian (1-5 overall) at ULM (0-1 overall, 0-0 Sun Belt Conference)
6:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022 | Fant-Ewing Coliseum (7,000) | Monroe, La.
WATCH: ESPN+ | LISTEN: KLIP 105.3 FM | LIVE STATS
GAME NOTES | SCORESHEET
MONROE, La. - The ULM Warhawks play the 2022-23 home opener at 6:30 p.m. Thursday night, entertaining Dallas Christian at Fant-Ewing Coliseum. It is the first-ever meeting between the Warhawks and Crusaders.
ULM began the 2022-23 season with an 87-54 loss to Texas A&M Monday night at Reed Arena in College Station, Texas. The Aggies put five players in double figures, led by Wade Taylor's 18 points. The Warhawks were led by 10 points apiece from Nika Metskhvarishvili and Jamari Blackmon. Metskhvarishvili narrowly missed a double-double, pulling down a team-best nine rebounds.
ULM trailed 16-12 in the first half after four points in 12 seconds by Blackmon. However, Texas A&M embarked on a 13-2 run, featuring 3-pointers by Andre Gordon, Taylor and Dexter Dennis stretched the lead to 29-14 with 8:50 left in the first half. ULM never got closer than 12 points the rest of the way.
ULM had a tough shooting night against the Aggies, hitting just 27.1% from the field (16-of-59). The Warhawks hit just 2-of-20 from 3-point range (10.0%). However, ULM generated offense by getting to the free-throw line, connecting on 20-of-28 attempts (71.4%).
Blackmon led the group of newcomers with 10 points, four rebounds, three steals and one assist in the loss. Savion Gallion used the free-throw line to boost his debut, scoring nine points while going 7-of-8 at the charity stripe. Tyreke Locure finished with seven points and five rebounds. Jalen Bolden added six points in his collegiate debut.
Dallas Christian is playing Thursday's contest as an exhibition. The Crusaders are 1-5 on the season and are coming off a 104-65 loss on Monday at Southwestern Assemblies of God. DCC's only win was in the season opener, taking a 76-71 win over Holy Patriot. Joseph Allen leads DCC at 17.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.
The Warhawks are looking to win home openers in consecutive seasons after defeating Champion Christian, 114-59, in last year's home opener on Nov. 16, 2021.
THURSDAY'S GAME BASICS
ULM plays its 2022-23 home opener at 6:30 p.m. Thursday night against Dallas Christian at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
The Warhawks (0-1 overall) opened the season with an 87-54 loss at Texas A&M on Monday night. The Aggies shot over 50% from the field (32-of-63, 50.8%) and hit 12 3-pointers (12-of-26, 46.2%) and led by as much as 38 points. ULM hit just 27% from the floor (16-of-59) and went 2-of-20 from 3-point range. Nika Metskhvarishvili and Jamari Blackmon led the Warhawks with 10 points each in the loss, while Savion Gallion added nine points (7-of-8 free throws).
Dallas Christian is coming off a 104-65 loss at Southwestern Assemblies of God on Monday. The Crusaders are playing Thursday's contest at ULM as an exhibition. Joseph Allen leads DCC at 17.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. The Crusaders are led by first-year head coach Todd Kelly, who previously spent six seasons as the head coach Illinios Institute of Technology.
Thursday's game will air on ESPN+ with Nick White on play-by-play and Mike Vining as the analyst. The game will also air on 105.3 FM KLIP, la105.com and the TuneIn app on the Warhawk Radio Network from Learfield with Mike Hammett on the play-by-play.
PREVIEWING DALLAS CHRISTIAN
Dallas Christian is 1-5 overall entering Thursday's game, which is an exhibition matchup for the Crusaders. DCC opened the season on Oct. 27 with a 76-71 win over Holy Patriot before dropping its next six games: at Langston (94-48), at Texas A&M-Texarkana (110-57), Texas College (75-72), Science and Arts (Okla.) (103-82) and Southwestern Assemblies of God (104-65).
Joseph Allen paces the Crusaders, averaging 17.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. He is one of two players to start all six games, along with Jalen Perez. Allen has scored in double figures five times, including a season-high 31 points at Texas College on Nov. 3 (11-of-18 field goals, 2-of-3 3-pointers), and had 24 points (9-of-14 field goals) against USAO on Nov. 5. The 6-4 sophomore picked up a double-double with 14 points and 15 rebounds in DCC's only win of the season against Holy Patriot, and also added seven blocks in the win.
Tyjuan Battles is second on the team in scoring at 8.8 points per game while playing in five contests and starting three. The Fort Worth, Texas, native scored a season-high 16 points twice, coming against Holy Patriot and USAO.
Perez has started all six games and is averaging 7.0 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. He scored 11 points against Texas A&M-Texarkana and 10 against USAO. His 15 assists lead the team.
The Crusaders finished third in the Association of Christian College Athletics national tournament last year and went 10-16 on the season.
METSKHVARISHVILI NAMED PRESEASON THIRD-TEAM ALL-SUN BELT
ULM junior forward Nika Metskhvarishvili was named to the All-Sun Belt Conference Preseason Third Team following a vote of the conference's head coaches. He opened the season with 10 points and nine rebounds on Monday at Texas A&M. He had a rough night shooting, finishing 3-of-12 from the field.
A potential breakout player, Metskhvarishvili appeared in 28 games with five starts in his first season at ULM as a second-year sophomore, averaging 10.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. He totaled 12 double-figure scoring games, including four games with 20-or-more points and had a double-double with 15 points and 11 boards at Texas State. He scored a career-high 23 points while playing 40 minutes at UT Arlington on Jan. 15.
He scored in double figures in five consecutive games from Jan. 8-22, and improved inside SBC action, averaging 11.9 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.
"We need Nika to have a really good year," ULM head coach
Keith Richard said. "We think he can and he wants to. He could be an all-conference player in this league."
HOWELL RETURNS FOR THIRD SEASON INSIDE
ULM sophomore forward
Thomas Howell is back for his third season with the Warhawks in 2022-23. He is the only returning starter from the 2021-22 team. He was hampered by foul trouble Monday at Texas A&M and finished with two points and five rebounds in just over 18 minutes of action.
Howell came into the program as a freshman and has steadily evolved his game. He started 30 of 31 games as a second-year freshman in 2021-22, averaging 8.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game while shooting 59.4 percent (107-of-180) from the field, ranking as the sixth-best field-goal percentage in a single season in program history. Howell led the Warhawks with 44 offensive rebounds and scored in double figures 10 times.
"I just want Thomas to progress like he has the past two years," ULM head coach
Keith Richard said. "If you look from high school to his freshman year, he improved. If you look from his freshman year to the next year, he improved. I want him to take another step and I think he will. Without putting undue pressure on him, he doesn't have to be anybody but himself and keep improving. In this day and time when you get guys three years in your program, that's a luxury now."
POWELL, WILLIAMS PART OF RETURNING GROUP
ULM senior guard
Langston Powell and sophomore guard
Johnnie Williams IV complete the group of four returning players for the 2022-23 squad.
A local product from West Monroe High School, Powell has battled injuries throughout his career. Last year, he played in 27 games with nine starts as a second-year junior, averaging 4.1 points, 1.3 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. He opened the 2022-23 season with three points, two rebounds and two steals on Monday against Texas A&M.
"Before his second injury, he's finally starting to look like he looked then, which is a really athletic player who knows how to play on the floor," ULM head coach
Keith Richard said. "He knows who he is as a player. He's a good returner to have back, and he's done well out here in the preseason."
A native of Sarasota, Florida, Williams played in 12 games with one start last season, averaging 1.3 points and 1.0 rebounds per game. He played the final 5:36 of the game on Monday at Texas A&M, scoring three points on ULM's second 3-pointer of the night.
SIX TRANSFERS HIGHLIGHT NEWCOMERS
Nine newcomers have arrived to bolster the 2022-23 Warhawks team, with six of them having previous NCAA Division I experience including 6-10 center Victor Bafutto (Mercer transfer), 6-0 guard Jamari Blackmon (North Alabama transfer), 6-11 forward AD Diedhiou (UAB transfer), 6-4 guard Savion Gallion (South Plains College/Buffalo transfer), 6-3 guard Devon Hancock (Milwaukee transfer) and 6-0 guard Tyreke Locure (UAB transfer).
ULM expects big things from the new additions, especially the combo guard Locure. He spent last season at UAB but began his collegiate career at Sun Belt Conference rival South Alabama, where he started 34 of 49 games over two seasons. As a sophomore in 2020-21, Locure started 25 of 26 games and averaged 13.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.1 assists.
"He's already averaged double figures at South Alabama two years ago," ULM head coach
Keith Richard said. "He's proven that he can score in this league."
Locure has speed and a versatile offensive skillset that can fill up a box score.
"He's a scoring guard, make no mistake about it," Richard said. "It's all about scoring with him. He can bounce around from two to one."
Locure had a tough start to the season Monday night at Texas A&M, scoring seven points on 2-of-12 shooting, including 1-of-7 from 3-point range. He added five rebounds, two assists and one steal.
Blackmon will supplement ULM's options at point guard. He played four seasons at North Alabama, ranking as the sixth all-time leading scorer in UNA history with 1,346 points after starting 111 of 113 career games from 2018-22. He came off the bench on Monday at Texas A&M and matched Nika Metskhvarishvili for the team lead with 10 points while adding four rebounds, three steals and one assist.
"He's a great defender, a good scorer," Richard said. "At North Alabama, I think he scored over 1,300 points. He's a scorer and gets to the foul line a lot, as opposed to Elijah, who is more run the team and shoot 3-point shots; this kid is more physical defensively. He gets fouled a lot and can knock down the occasional three. It gives us another guy up there."
Bafutto and Diedhiou bring size to the roster that ULM was missing a year ago.
"We're going to need it," Richard said. "There were games last year where Thomas or Nika at the five was not good in that particular game. It wasn't every game, but there were some where the other team's players were just bigger and stronger and they got that offensive rebound, just because they were bigger and taller.
"So, we signed both those kids with the thought that we don't want that to happen anymore."
Bafutto made his season debut on Monday at Texas A&M, scoring four points with two rebounds while adding a career-high three blocks.
"He's 6-10, not a big jumper, but he has a 7-3 wingspan," Richard said. "Just those arms have bothered some of our guys in practice. We get both of them out there, it just gives us a stronger team."
Richard identified Hancock and Gallion as "key players" because of their experience and ability. Both players were in Monday's starting lineup at Texas A&M. Gallion had nine points on the strength of a 7-of-8 night at the free-throw line, while Hancock was scoreless with one rebound, one assist and one steal in 18 minutes.
"They are two good-looking guards, who look like what we play against in the Sun Belt," Richard said. "They're both here for a reason, just like a lot of guys when they transfer. They're here because for whatever reason, it didn't work out as well as they wanted it to at their other place. If both of them can work out here, if this is the spot that was good, we have a chance to have a good team. It gives us really good depth on the perimeter and multiple guards we can throw out there."
THREE FRESHMEN ROUND OUT NEWCOMER GROUP
Three true freshmen complete the nine-player newcomer group for ULM in 2022-23, including 6-4 guard Jalen Bolden (Zachary High School), 6-5 guard Jacob Wilson (Liberty Magnet High School ) and 6-7 walk-on forward Edwin Litolff (Doyle High School).
Bolden led Zachary to back-to-back Class 5A Championships in 2021 and '22 and averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds as a senior. He was the Class 5A Player of the Year in and selected the Outstanding Player in the Class 5A Championship Game after posting 23 points and 11 rebounds in an 84-63 victory over Northshore. He made his collegiate debut on Monday, scoring six points with one rebound and one steal at Texas A&M.
"He's coming here with a Sun Belt body," ULM head coach
Keith Richard said. "He's strong, one of the things that happens to freshmen sometimes, is the players are stronger than they thought it would be or even ready for physically. Because of his body, he's a strong player. That's going to give him the opportunity to play earlier."
Wilson was a First-Team All-State Class 4A selection by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association and Second-Team All-State by the Louisiana High School Basketball Coaches Association after averaging 19.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game as a high school senior. He was selected to play in the Louisiana East-West All-Star Game.
Wilson scored 1,875 career points, pulled down 646 rebounds, handed out 469 assists and totaled 272 steals, helping the Liberty Magnet Patriots to a Division II state semifinals appearance in 2021 and a state runner-up finish in 2022. He made his collegiate debut on Monday, playing 11 minutes while tracking down three rebounds with one steal and one assist.
"Adding Jacob is an intriguing addition to our program," Richard said. "He is a 6-5 player who handles the ball well and can play multiple positions who we think can help us. It was widely recognized that Jacob and Jalen were two of the top senior high school prospects in the state last year."
Litolff finished his high school career as a small forward at Doyle after playing three seasons at Holden High School.
