ULM Warhawks

ULM (3-8 overall, 0-0 Sun Belt Conference) vs. Lamar (4-7 overall, 0-0 Southland Conference)
2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 17, 2022 | Fant-Ewing Coliseum | Monroe, La.
WATCH: ESPN+ | LISTEN: 105.3 FM KLIP | LIVE STATS | TICKETS
GAME NOTES

MONROE, La. - The ULM Warhawks continue a three-game homestand to conclude non-conference play as they welcome the Lamar Cardinals to Fant-Ewing Coliseum. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. Saturday, with the women's basketball game vs. Tennessee Tech to follow at 4:30 p.m.

ULM (3-8 overall) lost the opening game of the homestand, 79-53, to Sam Houston on Wednesday night. The Bearkats shot 50% from the field (30-of-60) and 3-point range (12-of-24) while dominating the glass, outrebounding ULM 41-19, including 16 offensive rebounds. The Bearkats used a 20-2 run in the second half, hitting nine consecutive shots, to pull away. Cameron Huefner led four SHSU players in double figures with 18 points (4-of-5 3-point field-goal attempts). Tyreke Locure paced ULM with 14 points while Langston Powell added 10.

Through 10 games, Locure leads ULM at 13.3 points per game, which ranks 14th in the Sun Belt Conference through Wednesday's games. He has scored in double figures nine times. He also leads the team with 2.1 steals per game, which is fifth in the SBC. 

Four other active Warhawks are averaging over eight points per game. Jamari Blackmon is second on the team at 9.1 points per game and leads the team at 3.5 assists per game, which ranks ninth in the SBC. Victor Bafutto is third on the team at 9.0 points per game, while adding 6.0 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game, which ranks third in the SBC. Savion Gallion is averaging 8.6 points per game, while Thomas Howell is at 8.5 points and a team-best 7.7 rebounds per game, which is seventh in the SBC.

Saturday's game is the 53rd all-time meeting between ULM and Lamar, with the Cardinals leading the series, 27-25. It is the third-consecutive year the two former Southland Conference rivals have met, with Lamar winning, 63-60, in Monroe on Dec. 9, 2020, and ULM winning, 80-77, in Beaumont on Dec. 20, 2021.

SATURDAY'S GAME BASICS    
Former Southland Conference foes ULM and Lamar meet for the third consecutive season and for the 53rd time overall at 2 p.m. Saturday at Fant-Ewing Coliseum. ULM won last year's meeting on Dec. 20, 2021, in Beaumont, Texas, 80-77, but Lamar won in Monroe in 2020, picking up a 63-60 victory on Dec. 9.

The Warhawks (3-8 overall) lost Wednesday's game vs. Sam Houston, 79-53. ULM is looking for its first win over a Division I opponent this season. The Warhawks are 3-1 at home this season with wins against Dallas Christian, Central Baptist and Champion Christian. ULM is 15-12 at home all-time against Lamar.

The Warhawks have been strong in creating turnovers. ULM ranks 36th in NCAA Division I and fourth in the Sun Belt Conference averaging 9.2 steals per game and are 59th nationally and fourth in the SBC at 15.82 turnovers forced per game. The Warhawks have been strong on the offensive glass, ranking 49th nationally and fourth in the SBC with 12.64 offensive rebounds per game. ULM has generated offense on the fast break and getting to the free-throw line, ranking 71st nationally and fifth in the SBC at 12.91 fast-break points per game and 94th nationally and fourth in the SBC with 19.6 free-throw attempts per game.

Lamar (4-7) has lost its last two games and six of its last seven contests. The Cardinals lost both ends of a home-and-home against Southern Miss, losing 95-59 in Hattiesburg last Saturday before dropping Tuesday's game in Beaumont, 91-65. Three of Lamar's four wins are against non-Division I opponents, picking up its lone Division I win with a 73-71 victory against Lindenwood on Nov. 18.

The Cardinals rank 48th in NCAA Division I and fourth in the Southland Conference in offensive rebounds per game (12.73 pg.) and 49th in Division I and second in Southland in assists per game (15.9 pg.). Nate Calmese ranks 36th in the nation and leads the Southland with 71 field goals while ranking 77th in the nation and leads the Southland with 185 points. Chris Pryor is 68th in Division I and leads the Southland with 48 assists.

Saturday's game will stream on ESPN+ with Chris Harris (play-by-play) and Mike Vining (analyst) on the call. 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 LAMAR
The Cardinals are 4-7 overall on the season after dropping back-to-back games to Southern Miss, falling 95-59 last Saturday in Hattiesburg and on Tuesday, 91-65, in Beaumont.

Alvin Brooks is in his second season leading Lamar. He played two seasons for LU, graduating in 1982. He was LU's all-time leader in assists with 432 before being drafted in the 10th round of the 1982 NBA Draft by the San Antonio Spurs. He served as head coach at Houston from 1993 to 1998, and has also been an assistant with Houston, Texas A&M, UTEP, North Texas, Texas Tech and LU and had a stint as the director of operations at Kentucky.

Lamar has pulled in 140 offensive rebounds, which averages to 12.73 offensive rebounds per game, good for 48th nationally. Cody Pennebaker leads LU with 1.7 offensive rebounds per game. Five players have 10-or-more offensive rebounds this season.

The Cardinals have also dished out 175 assists, led by Chris Pryor's 4.4 assists per game. Jakevion Buckley is averaging 3.5 assists per game, while Nate Calmese averages 2.7 per game.

Calmese leads the team with 16.8 points per game, while adding 3.3 rebounds per game. The true freshman guard from Gilbert, Arizona, has posted eight double-figure scoring games, all coming in the last nine games. He has topped 20 points five times. He scored a season-high 31 points (5-of-11 3-point shooting) with five assists and five steals against Our Lady of the Lake on Dec. 5. He also totaled 27 points against Western Carolina on Nov. 19 and 25 points vs. Texas State on Dec. 1.

Pryor is second on the team at 11.0 points per game with 3.8 rebounds per game. He has scored in double figures five times, but topped 20 points twice. He had 23 points with three rebounds and two assists in the season-opener against St. Thomas (Texas) on Nov. 7. He had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds at TCU on Nov. 11. He scored 20 points with three rebounds and six assists against Western Carolina on Nov. 19. He had a season-high seven assists on Tuesday against Southern Miss.

Adam Hamilton is third on the team in scoring at 10.2 points per game and leads the team at 6.0 rebounds per game. He has played in just six contests, returning to action in the last two games against Southern Miss. He had 24 points and nine rebounds against Western Carolina on Nov. 19, before going for a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds at McNeese on Nov. 20 in his only start.

LOCURE SHOOTS TO TOP OF SCORING COLUMN    
ULM junior guard Tyreke Locure leads the team in scoring at 13.3 points per game, which ranks 14th in the Sun Belt Conference. He also is averaging 3.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.1 steals per game. He ranks fifth in the SBC in steals per game, 12th in assists per game, 13th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.33), 14th in 3-point field golas made per game (1.73) and 23rd in minutes per game (28.55). He led ULM with 14 points (5-of-9 field-goal shooting), four rebounds, four steals and three assists on Wednesday vs. Sam Houston.

He has scored in double figures in nine of 11 games this season. Locure scored 13 points with two rebounds, two assists and two steals last Saturday at Northwestern State. He picked up 14 points with seven assists, two rebounds and one steal on Dec. 3 vs. Champion Christian. He led the team with 14 points and added five rebounds, three assists and two steals on Nov. 28 at Tulane. Locure had 14 points, reaching double figures for the fifth consecutive game, with two assists and two steals vs. Omaha at the Emerald Coast Classic on Nov. 25. He netted 18 points with six rebounds and four steals at Louisiana Tech on Nov. 21. He picked up 14 points with two steals at No. 15/18 TCU on Nov. 17. Locure scored 13 points with four assists, three rebounds and two steals vs. Central Baptist on Nov. 14. In his home debut, he flirted with a triple-double, leading the team with 19 points while adding eight assists, seven rebounds and three steals against Dallas Christian on Nov. 10.

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.

BAFUTTO STEPS UP FOR WARHAWKS    
ULM graduate forward Victor Bafutto has scored in double figures in three of the last five games. Last Saturday, he scored six points while adding a season-high 10 rebounds and a career-high six blocks at Northwestern State. He struggled with foul trouble on Wednesday against Sam Houston, scoring four points with four rebounds. Over the last five games, he is averaging a team-high 12.6 points with 6.8 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game.

He notched his third consecutive double-figure scoring effort on Dec. 3 against Champion Christian, matching a career high with 20 points. He has scored in double figures five times this season. He had five double-figure games over four seasons and 80 career games at Mercer.

Bafutto scored 13 points while matching a season high with nine rebounds at Tulane on Nov. 28. He added three blocks and two assists. He set career highs in points (20), field goals made (8) and minutes (39) and matched career highs in free throws made (4) and free throws attempted (4) against Loyola Maryland on Nov. 26. He also added eight rebounds, two blocks and one assist in his first start as a Warhawk. He smashed previous career highs of 14 points, six field goals made and 25 minutes.

Over his five starts this season, Bafutto is averaging 12.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.2 blocks, 1.0 assists and 30.5 minutes per game while shooting 57% (24-of-42) from the field.

He ranks third in the Sun Belt Conference and 24th in NCAA Division I with 2.1 blocks per game. He also is seventh in the SBC in offensive rebounds per game (2.45 pg.), 10th in field goal percentage (.574) and 15th in rebounding (6.0 pg.).

The 6-10 forward from Brasilia, Brazil, transferred to ULM after playing in 80 games over four seasons at Mercer. He earned both a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in civil engineering from Mercer, and is working on a master's of business administration degree at ULM.

BLACKMON BRINGS EXPERIENCE AT POINT GUARD    
ULM senior guard Jamari Blackmon has provided a steady and veteran hand on the perimeter for the Warhawks. He is averaging 9.1 points, a team-high 3.5 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. He has scored in double figures six times. He tallied 12 points on 7-of-9 free-throw shooting last Saturday at Northwestern State. He matched a career high with nine assists vs. Dallas Chrisitan on Nov. 10 and picked up eight assists on Nov. 28 at Tulane.

He ranks ninth in the Sun Belt Conference in assists per game (3.5 pg.). He is 16th in minutes per game (30.00 pg.).

Blackmon was named to the Emerald Coast Classic All-Tournament Team, as announced on Nov. 27.

Blackmon tied for the team lead with Tyreke Locure with 11.3 points per game over the three-game classic against No. 15/18 TCU, Omaha and Loyola Maryland. Blackmon shot 54.2% from the field (13-of-24) and 53.8% from 3-point range (7-for-13).

Blackmon added seven assists and six rebounds over the two games.

He started his Emerald Coast Classic run with nine points and one assist at TCU on Nov. 17. He then scored a season-high 15 points on 3-of-6 3-point shooting while adding three rebounds and two steals against Omaha on Friday. He closed out the tournament with 10 points, hitting 2-of-3 from deep, and five assists on Saturday against Loyola Maryland.

Blackmon 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. 

HOWELL ANCHORS THE POST
ULM sophomore forward Thomas Howell is one of just two post players remaining on the 2022-23 roster. The third-year player from Natchitoches, Louisiana, is averaging 8.5 points, a team-best 7.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.1 steals per game. He ranks seventh in the Sun Belt Conference in rebounding, eighth in defensive rebounds per game (5.36 pg.) and ninth in offensive rebounds per game (2.36 pg.). He is 21st in the SBC in minutes played per game (28.73 pg.).

He put together a big game against Northwestern State last Saturday in his hometown of Natchitoches. Howell led ULM with 16 points and nine rebounds. It was his fourth career game against his hometown university. 

Over the last five games, he is averaging 9.2 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.8 steals per game. He has scored in double figures and pulled down double-figure rebounds twice.

He just missed his second double-double of the season on Dec. 3, finishing with nine points and a career-high 15 rebounds against Champion Christian. The 6-8 sophomore forward had a strong three-game road swing to the Emerald Coast Classic and Tulane. He averaged 10.3 points and 9.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game against Omaha, Loyola Maryland and Tulane. Howell picked up a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double against Omaha on Nov. 25, the second double-double of his ULM career. He added 12 points and six rebounds vs. Loyola Maryland on Nov. 26. He closed out the three-game road swing at Tulane on Nov. 28 by matching his career high with 11 rebounds and added six points.

After struggling to two points and five rebounds in the season opener Nov. 7 at Texas A&M, Howell bounced back. He scored 14 points (7-of-10 field-goal attempts) with six rebounds against Dallas Christian on Nov. 10. He followed it up with 12 points, six rebounds and four assists against Central Baptist on Nov. 14. He tallied six points and led the team with six rebounds at No. 15/18 TCU on Nov. 17. He had seven rebounds at Louisiana Tech on Nov. 21.

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 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.

GALLION ONE OF TOP FREE-THROW SHOOTERS IN SBC    
ULM junior guard Savion Gallion is shooting 77.5% (31-of-40) from the free-throw line through the first 11 games of the season, ranking him 14th in the Sun Belt Conference.

Gallion has scored in double figures four times on the season. He matched his career high with 13 points while adding two rebounds and two assists at Northwestern State last Saturday. He had 11 points, four rebounds, two assists and one steal against Loyola Maryland on Nov. 26. He posted 13 points with three rebounds and one assist vs. Central Baptist on Nov. 14. In the home opener, he notched 12 points with two assists and one rebound against Dallas Christian on Nov. 10.

He is one of six incoming transfers on the 2022-23 Warhawk roster. Gallion spent the 2021-22 season at South Plains Junior College, where he averaged 9.9 points and 2.8 rebounds per game in 32 games with 12 starts. He played his first two collegiate seasons at Buffalo, where he earned two letters after playing in 29 games over two seasons.

HANCOCK FINDS HIS SHOT OFF BENCH    
ULM sophomore guard Devon Hancock matched a career high with 13 points against Champion Christian on Dec. 3. Hancock shot 4-of-6 from the field and 3-of-4 on 3-point field-goal attempts.

Hancock also scored 13 points (4-of-9 3-pointers) at Louisiana Tech on Nov. 21. He had 11 points in a start against Central Baptist on Nov. 14. He ranks second on the team in 3-point field goal percentage (.353, 12-of-34). In 10 games, he is averaging 5.6 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.

He played in 46 games for Milwaukee over the last two seasons, averaging 3.2 points and 1.1 rebounds per game. He shot 38% (22-of-58) from 3-point range as a second-year freshman in 2021-22.

WILSON SETS SEASON HIGH VS. CHAMPION CHRISTIAN    
ULM freshman guard Jacob Wilson had his first career double-figure game on Dec. 3 against Champion Christian, scoring 13 points. He also added season highs with six assists and two steals. He pulled in four rebounds.

In just 15 minutes of action against the Tigers, Wilson went 6-of-8 from the field and 1-of-1 from 3-point range to reach 13 points and finished as one of four Warhawks to score in double figures.

Wilson came off the bench to score nine points on 4-of-4 shooting Wednesday night against Sam Houston.

In nine games, Wilson is averaging 4.4 points, 1.7 rebounds and 10.5 minutes per game. He is averaging 16.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists per 40 minutes on the season.

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. 

METSKHVARISHVILI TO MISS REMAINDER OF THE 2022-23 SEASON    
ULM junior forward Nika Metskhvarishvili will miss the remainder of the 2022-23 season due to an injured knee that requires surgery.

The Third-Team Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference selection played in five games before his injury forced him to the sideline. He averaged 9.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, scoring a season-high 15 points against Central Baptist on Nov. 14 and earning a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds against Dallas Christian on Nov. 10.

He is the second post player to suffer a season-ending injury for ULM, following AD Diedhiou's ACL injury in October.

"It's a tough blow for Nika and our team," ULM head coach Keith Richard said. "We were already shorthanded in the post after losing AD in October. We will find a way to make it work with the post players that we have remaining in Thomas Howell and Victor Bafutto. We wish Nika a speedy recovery from his surgery."

DOUBLE VISION    
Through the first 10 games of the season, two different Warhawks have posted double-doubles.

Junior forward Nika Metskhvarishvili posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds vs. Dallas Christian on Nov. 10. It was the second double-double of his ULM career, joining a 15-point, 11-rebound effort at Texas State on Jan. 13, 2022.

Sophomore forward Thomas Howell joined the double-double club on Nov. 25 against Omaha, posting season highs with 13 points and 10 rebounds against the Mavericks at the Emerald Coast Classic in Niceville, Florida. It was Howell's second career double-double after picking up 13 points and 11 rebounds against his hometown team, Northwestern State, on Nov. 22, 2021, in a neutral-site game in Ruston, Louisiana.
 
SEVEN WARHAWKS IN DOUBLE FIGURES IN CONSECUTIVE GAMES    
ULM put seven players in double figures in back-to-back games against Central Baptist on Nov. 14 and Dallas Baptist on Nov. 10. 

Nika Metskhvarishvili led the Warhawks against Central Baptist with 15 points. Victor Bafutto came off the bench to match a career-high with 14 points (6-of-6 field-goal attempts). Tyreke Locure and Savion Gallion added 13 points apiece. Thomas Howell and Langston Powell posted 12 points each. Devon Hancock picked up 11 points (4-of-5 field-goal attempts).

In the previous game against Dallas Christian, Locure (19 points), Howell (14 points), Gallion (12 points), Bafutto (11 points) and Metskhvarishvili (10 points) were all part of another effort with seven players in double figures. Jalen Bolden scored 13 points and Jamari Blackmon, who missed the Central Baptist game with an injury, had 10 points.

WARHAWKS ACHIEVE BIG NUMBERS AGAINST DALLAS CHRISTIAN    
In the home opener against Dallas Chrisitan on Nov. 10, 2022, ULM put up big numbers in several stat categories. The Warhawks put seven players in double figures in the win, marking the first time ULM had put at least six players in double figures since Nov. 16, 2021. ULM also tallied 32 assists in the victory, marking the most assists for the Warhawks since tallying a school-record 34 assists against Arkansas-Monticello on Dec. 3, 1996. ULM also pulled down 27 offensive rebounds in the win, which marks the most since at least the 2009-10 season.