MONROE, La. – Seven ULM players scored in double figures, led by Tyreke Locure's 19 points, as the Warhawks rolled to a 111-59 win over Dallas Christian in the home opener Thursday night at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
 
Locure was one of several Warhawks that not only had a solid night scoring but filled up the stat sheet as well. He flirted with a triple-double, finishing with eight assists and seven rebounds while adding three steals and shot 3-of-5 from 3-point range.
 
"We made hustle plays tonight, all throughout the game, even into the final minutes," ULM head coach Keith Richard said. "It just seemed like they had some fun with it tonight. I think that's kind of the important thing, is gain a little confidence tonight. We needed a feel-good game, and that's what this was."
 
Thomas Howell added 14 points and six rebounds, Jalen Bolden came off the bench to add 13 points (5-of-7 field-goal attempts, 3-of-3 3-pointers), Savion Gallion added 12 points, Victor Bafutto had 11 points, eight rebounds and three blocks, Nika Metskhvarishvili had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds and Jamari Blackmon just missed a double-double with 10 points and nine assists while adding five steals.
 
The Warhawks handed out 32 assists on the night, the most by ULM since dishing out a school-record 34 assists against Arkansas-Monticello on Dec. 3, 1996.
 
The seven players in double figures by ULM is the most since the Warhawks put six in double figures last season's home opener against Central Christian.
 
"I think we got to see each guy kind of show out a little bit of what they could do tonight," Richard said. "They each kind of had their moments. We had 32 assists tonight, too. That's a lot of assists. That means you're sharing the ball. We did that well."
 
ULM led 30-20 with 8:05 left in the first half. The Warhawks closed the half on a 30-5 run and scored the final 15 points before halftime. ULM closed the half with a hustle play that defined the tempo and tenacity of the night, as Blackmon knocked the ball away from Tyjuan Battles near mid court. Both players hit the floor fighting for the ball before Blackmon pulled it in, found Gallion with a pass, who then passed to Metskhvarishvili, who fired an alley-oop to Howell, who threw down the dunk before the halftime buzzer for the 60-25 lead.
 
Dallas Christian closed the gap to 29 early in the second half, but ULM used a 20-0 run to build a 49-point lead, with 3-pointers by Metskhvarishvili, Blackmon and Bolden in the run. The Warhawks knocked down 14 treys on the night on 33 attempts (42.4%).
 
"We wanted to accomplish some things, and I thought we played really hard," Richard said. "That was one of our goals here today, to play really hard. It was good to see some guys make some 3-point shots, especially after we hadn't been shooting the ball really well."
 
ULM shot 54.3% (44-of-81) from the field and 9-of-13 (69.2%) at the free-throw line as all 11 players that suited up scored in the game.
 
DCC shot 44.2% (23-of-52) overall and 27.8% (5-of-18) from beyond the arc. However, the Crusaders had 23 turnovers. Joseph Allen led four DCC players in double figures with 12 points.
 
ULM is back in action at 6:30 p.m. Monday against Central Baptist at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.