ULM Warhawks

ULM (2-6 overall, 0-0 Sun Belt Conference) vs. Champion Christian (2-1 overall, NCCAA)
2:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022 | Fant-Ewing Coliseum | Monroe, La.
WATCH: ESPN+ | LISTEN: 105.3 FM KLIP | LIVE STATS | TICKETS
GAME NOTES

MONROE, La. - The ULM Warhawks play their first home game in 18 days at 2:30 p.m. Saturday when they entertain Champion Christian at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.

ULM (2-6 overall) lost Monday's game, 75-60, at Tulane. Junior guard Tyreke Locure led ULM with 14 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals. Graduate forward Victor Bafutto also broke into double figures with 13 points, nine rebounds, three blocks and two assists. Sophomore forward Thomas Howell matched a career high with 11 rebounds, while senior guard Jamari Blackmon posted eight assists.

Through eight games, Locure leads ULM at 13.1 points per game, scoring in double figures six times. He also leads the team with 2.0 steals per game. Blackmon is second on the team at 10.4 points per game while leading the team with 4.4 assists per game. Howell leads the team at 7.1 rebounds per game. Bafutto is averaging at team-best 2.1 blocks per game.

Saturday's game marks the third all-time meeting between ULM and Champion Christian and the second consecutive season for the Warhawks and Tigers to clash. Last year, ULM rolled to a 114-59 win over CCC in the home opener on Nov. 16. Langston Powell was one of six Warhawks to score in double figures in the win with 14 points and four assists off the bench. ULM won the first meeting with the Tigers, 106-39, on Nov. 17, 2014.

Victor Bafutto continues to rank as one of the nation's best in blocking shots. He ranks 15th in NCAA Division I and second in the Sun Belt Conference with 17 blocks, and is 32nd in Division I and fourth in the SBC at 2.1 blocks per game.

SATURDAY'S GAME BASICS    
ULM and Champion Christian meet for the third time in program history at 2:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.The Warhawks have cruised to victory over the NCCAA opponent twice before, winning 114-59 last season and 106-39 in 2014.

The Warhawks (2-6 overall) have lost five consecutive games dating back to a 105-56 win over Central Baptist on Nov. 14. ULM lost Monday's game at Tulane, 75-60, despite a 14-point effort from Tyreke Locure and 13 points and nine rebounds from Victor Bafutto. The Warhawks rank 39th in NCAA Division I and second in the Sun Belt Conference with 13.3 offensive rebounds per game and 61st in Division I and seventh in the SBC with 8.9 steals per game. Bafutto is 19th in Division I and third in the SBC with 17 blocks while Locure is 81st in Division I and fourth in the SBC with 2.0 steals per game.

Champion Chrisitan has played 11 games since Oct. 28, but only three count toward the Tigers' record, sitting at 2-1 on the season. CCC opened with a 76-74 loss to Arkansas Baptist on Oct. 28 before winning in overtime, 76-65, against Ecclesia on Oct. 29. The Tigers earned a 90-73 win over the University of the Virgin Islands on Nov. 17. All three wins came at home in Hot Springs, Arkansas. CCC has played seven exhibition games against NCAA Division I opponents (Central Arkansas, McNeese, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, UT Martin, HCU, Southern and Nicholls) and one against an NCAA Division II opponent (Harding).

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 CHAMPION CHRISTIAN
Champion Christian has played 11 games, with only three counting toward the NCCAA school's 2022-23 record. The Tigers lost to Arkansas Baptist, 76-74, but defeated Ecclesia, 76-65 in overtime, and University of the Virgin Islands, 90-73. The team has played eight exhibition games, including Tuesday's 115-50 loss at Nicholls and Monday's 112-52 loss at Southern.

In Thibodeaux against Nicholls on Tuesday, CCC was led by Braylon Hawkins with 14 points while Xavier Hall added 13 points. Fourteen different players appeared in the game for the Tigers. CCC shot 33% (21-of-64) from the field and 13% (4-of-31) from the 3-point line.

In Baton Rouge against Southern on Monday, the Tigers were led by Hall's 15 points while Hawkins added 10 points. Champion shot 31% (18-of-58) from the floor and 24% (9-of-38) from 3-point range.

WARHAWKS AGAINST NON-DIVISION I OPPONENTS    
ULM has won its last 21 games against opponents from outside of NCAA Division I, including a 2-0 mark in 2022-23. The Warhawks defeated Dallas Christian (NCCAA) 111-59 on Nov. 10 and Central Baptist (NAIA) 105-56 on Nov. 14.

Under head coach Keith Richard, ULM is 23-1 against opponents outside of NCAA Division I. The Warhawks last lost a game to a non-Division I opponent on Nov. 26, 2011, when Harding defeated ULM, 71-68, in Monroe, in Richard's second season. The ULM program was saddled with APR sanctions at the time, which Richard inherited when he took the head coaching job in 2010.

LOCURE SHOOTS TO TOP OF SCORING COLUMN    
ULM junior guard Tyreke Locure leads the team in scoring at 13.1 points per game, which ranks 16th in the Sun Belt Conference. He also is averaging 4.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game. He led the team with 14 points and added five rebounds, three assists and two steals on Monday at Tulane.

He has scored in double figures in six of eight games this season. He 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.

Locure ranks fourth in the Sun Belt Conference in steals per game (2.0 pg.). He has multiple steals in six of the eight games. He also ranks 12th in the SBC in 3-pointers made per game (1.75 pg.) and 18th in minutes per game (29.0 pg.).

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 four times this season, including each of the last two contests entering Saturday's game against Champion Christian.

Bafutto scored 13 points while matching a season high with nine rebounds at Tulane on Monday. 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 two starts, Bafutto is averaging 16.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.5 blocks, 1.5 assists and 38.5 minutes per game while shooting 82% (14-of-17) from the field.

He ranks third in the Sun Belt Conference and 28th in NCAA Division I with 2.13 blocks per game. He is also third in the SBC in field goal percentage (.674), fifth in offensive rebounds per game (2.75 pg.) and 14th in rebounding (6.1 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 EARNS ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM HONORS
ULM guard Jamari 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.

On the season, Blackmon is averaging 10.4 points, a team-high 4.4 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game. He has scored in double figures five times. 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 seventh in the Sun Belt Conference in assists per game (4.4 pg.) and 3-pointers made per game (2.0 pg.), ninth in steals per game (1.71 pg.) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.21), 11th in minutes per game (31.00 pg.) and 12th in 3-point field-goal percentage (.424).

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 RETURNS FOR THIRD SEASON INSIDE
ULM sophomore forward Thomas Howell had a strong three-game road swing to the Emerald Coast Classic and Tulane. The 6-8 sophomore forward from Natchitoches, Louisiana, averaged 10.3 points and 9.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game against Omaha, Loyola Maryland and Tulane. The three-game spurt improved his season averages to 8.3 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. He ranks eighth in the Sun Belt Conference in rebounds per game, 10th in defensive rebounds per game (5.13 pg.) and 13th in offensive rebounds per game (2.0 pg.).

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.

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. 

In the first five games of the season, Metskhvarishvili is scoring 9.8 points per game and tracking down 5.8 rebounds per game. The Tbilisi, Georgia, native opened the season with 10 points and nine rebounds on Nov. 7 at Texas A&M before following it up with a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds on Nov. 10 against Dallas Christian. He added a team-high 15 points with five rebounds against Central Baptist on Nov. 14. He had nine points, four rebounds and two blocks at No. 15/18 TCU on Nov. 17. After playing on Nov. 21 at Louisiana Tech, he missed the last three games against Omaha, Loyola Maryland and Tulane due to injury.
 
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.

GALLION ONE OF TOP FREE-THROW SHOOTERS IN SBC    
ULM junior guard Savion Gallion is shooting 80.0% (24-of-30) from the free-throw line through the first eight games of the season, ranking him 12th in the Sun Belt Conference.

Gallion has scored in double figures three times on the season. He had 11 points, four rebounds, two assists and one steal against Loyola Maryland on Nov. 26. He posted a season-high 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.

DOUBLE VISION    
Through the first eight 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.