ULM Seeks Sun Belt Weekend Road Sweep at Little Rock

Men's Basketball Feb 05

Game 24: ULM (11-12, 3-8 SBC) vs. Little Rock (7-12, 2-5 SBC)
Saturday, Feb. 5 | 2 p.m. CT
Jack Stephens Center (5,600) | Little Rock, Ark.
ESPN+ | KLIP 105.3 FM

2021-22 ULM Basketball Notes: Game 24 vs. Little Rock

THE STORYLINE –
ULM continues to brave the winter wonderland this weekend with a 2 p.m. CT Saturday matinee at Little Rock. The Warhawks snapped a four-game losing streak Thursday night with a victory at Arkansas State, their second Sun Belt road win this season.

Sophomore Nika Metskhvarishvili made one 3-pointer Thursday night, but it was exactly what the Warhawks needed with 16.6 seconds left to play as ULM clawed back from a 14-point second-half deficit for a 60-59 win at A-State.

The 1,000-career-point milestone for senior Russell Harrison is just three points away as he scored all nine of his points at A-State in the game's final 14:12.

ULM took the first meeting vs. Little Rock at home this season, 80-72, in the Warhawks' Sun Belt Conference home opener. ULM has won the last three meetings, all at home, and looks to break a four-game losing streak at the Jack Stephens Center.

THE STARTING FIVE –
• The Warhawks seek back-to-back road wins for the first time since December when they topped SFA (Dec. 14, 82-69) and Lamar (Dec. 20, 80-77) in the same week. ULM last won two-straight games away from home against Sun Belt opponents in the 2019 Sun Belt Conference Tournament vs. App State in the first round (89-80) and Coastal Carolina in round two (80-50). ULM closed the 2018-19 regular season with a 79-62 victory at Little Rock.

• The last time ULM swept a Sun Belt Conference road trip was in February of 2018 when the Warhawks produced a pair of overtime victories at Georgia Southern (Feb. 8, 66-64) and Georgia State (Feb. 10, 90-82).

• Sophomore F Nika Metskhvarishvili's 3-pointer on Thursday was his 19th in Sun Belt Conference play, just behind senior F Russell Harrison's 25 treys. ULM is the only team with two players among the top eight individuals in 3-point field goals per game with Harrison in second at 2.3 per game and Metskhvarishvili in seventh with 1.6 per game.

• The 60-59 win at Arkansas State was just ULM's second win vs. the Red Wolves in the last 21 tries in Jonesboro, Ark. The Warhawks broke their three-game losing streak in the series with the come-from-behind win Thursday.

• ULM returns Fant-Ewing Coliseum for three-straight home games with UT Arlington Thursday, Feb. 10 and Texas State on Saturday, Feb. 12 followed by the first contest of the home-and-home series with the Ragin' Cajuns on Thursday, Feb. 17.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS –
4 — For the third time this season Thursday night, the Warhawks allowed their opponents only four 3-point baskets, tying the opponent low for the season, and Arkansas State replaced ULM's previous opponent low for 3-point field-goal percentage with its .182 (4-for-22).

9 — ULM posted its second Sun Belt Conference road win Thursday night, claiming at least two league road victories for the ninth time in the head coach Keith Richard era. The 2014-15 and 2015-16 teams each won seven road SBC games, the top totals since he took over for the 2010-11 season.

14 — Down by 14 points with 14:24 left to play, the Warhawks registered their most impressive comeback this season in Thursday night's win at Arkansas State. ULM ran off 11-straight points coming out of the under-12 media timeout of the second half to cut the Red Wolves' 48-34 lead to just three (48-45). Andre Jones tied the game at 52 at the 5:16 mark with his 21st point of the night.

21 — Graduate guard Andre Jones matched his season best with 21 points in Thursday's win at A-State and has led the team in scoring five times this season, including two times in the last four games. In 17 games this season, Jones has managed double-figure scoring totals and scored 10 or more points for the 69th time in his career.

60 — The Warhawks' 60 points in their win over the Red Wolves marked their lowest point total in a win this season. The one-point win was also the smallest margin to determine an outcome in 2021-22. ULM has now won two games decided by three points or less, with an 80-77 victory at Lamar.

997 — Senior Russell Harrison scored all nine of his points in the second half of the victory at A-State to bring him within three points of the 1000-career-point milestone.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE –
According to kenpom.com (as of Feb. 4, 2022), ULM's strength of schedule in 2021-22 is 185th with a rating of -0.31. ESPN.com ranks the Warhawks' SOS at No. 185. ULM had a non-conference strength of schedule rating of +3.11 (No. 100), according to kenpom.com.

LITTLE ROCK SCOUTING REPORT –
Head Coach: Darrell Walker (Arkansas, 2012)
Record at Little Rock/Career Record: 49-58 (4th season)/87-65 (6th season)
Walker's Record vs. ULM: 4-5
Trojans' Top Scorer: Junior G Isaiah Palermo (12.5 ppg)
Trojans' Top Rebounder: Junior F Myron Gardner (5.3 rpg)

Little Rock is in its 31st, and final, season as a member of the Sun Belt Conference and faces ULM in its final regular-season Sun Belt contest. The Trojans are tied with Arkansas State and the Ragin' Cajuns as the second-longest tenured members of the conference.

The Trojans trailed the Ragin' Cajuns by just five points at halftime Thursday, but UL Lafayette shot 62 percent from the field and outscored Little Rock, 51-32, in the second half for a 75-51 victory. The Ragin' Cajuns finished the game with a .564 overall field-goal percentage, while Little Rock shot only .292 for the game, and controlled the boards with a 41-18 advantage. Freshman guard Jordan Jefferson led the way with 14 points and was joined in double digits by junior guard Isaiah Palermo, who finished with 11 points and a team-best six rebounds.

Senior forward Nikola Maric enters Saturday's game 16 points shy of becoming the 21st member of the Trojan 1,000-point club. He has registered nine double-doubles on the year, ranking second on the team, behind Isaiah Palermo's 10. Maric missed Thursday's game with a lower-body injury and is listed as doubtful for Saturday's contest. Eleven different Trojans have combined to miss 100 games due to injuries this season.

Little Rock's two Sun Belt Conference wins have both come at home in the Jack Stephens Center, including a 98-96 triple-overtime victory over UT Arlington last month. Four of the Trojans' games were canceled in January, including two home contests. Following Saturday's game vs. ULM, Little Rock hits the road for four-straight away from the Jack Stephens Center.

Trojan head coach Darrell Walker, who is in his fourth season at the helm of the Little Rock basketball program, brings a unique background to the college ranks. He is the only coach that has been a head coach at the NBA, WNBA, Division II and Division I levels and is one of just six Division I head coaches who won an NBA championship as a player: Darrell Walker, 1993 Chicago Bulls; Speedy Claxton (Hofstra, 2003 San Antonio); Juwan Howard (Michigan, 2012 and 2013 Miami); Lindsey Hunter, (Mississippi Valley, 2002 Los Angeles Lakers, 2004 Detroit Pistons); Mark Madsen (Utah Valley, 2001 and 2002 Los Angeles Lakers); Mo Williams (Alabama State, 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers).

ULM/LITTLE ROCK SERIES NOTES –
ULM has won the last three meetings against Little Rock, all at home in Fant-Ewing Coliseum, but the two programs face off in Little Rock Saturday for the 43rd time in series history.

The Trojans hold a 22-20 all-time edge over the Warhawks, including a 14-6 record in games played in Little Rock. Overall, Little Rock has won six of the last 10 games in the series. The two programs split their four-game series along home-court advantages during the 2020-21 season.

The Warhawks' last win in the Jack Stephens Center came on March 9, 2019, 79-62. Keith Richard is 19-14 all-time against Little Rock, with a 12-14 record as ULM head coach.

THE LAST MEETING –
ULM 80, Little Rock 72 (Jan. 6, 2022, in Monroe, La.): In a game with more changes than the Louisiana weather, Russell Harrison was a constant threat for ULM. Harrison scored a career-high 28 points with 12 rebounds to lead the Warhawks to an 80-72 win over Little Rock at Fant-Ewing Coliseum. The double-double was the sixth of Harrison's career. Harrison reached the 20-point mark for the fourth time this season and sixth time in his career. He was 11-for-16 from the field and 5-of-8 from 3-point range.

The Warhawks improved to 6-0 at home this season and have an eight-game winning streak at Fant-Ewing Coliseum, dating back to last season.

Little Rock native Andre Jones, who began his collegiate career with the Trojans, added 16 points and nine assists for the Warhawks. As a team, ULM finished with 20 assists and shot 57 percent from the field. Koreem Ozier scored 12 points with five rebounds and five assists.

The first half featured a series of runs by both teams, resulting in 10 lead changes and one tie over the first 20 minutes.

ULM opened the game with a 9-0 blitz, but Little Rock rode a 9-0 run to claim its first lead at the 12:11 mark. The Trojans stacked a 13-2 run after that and extended their advantage to 25-18.

With a 10-0 spurt, ULM was back ahead 32-27 on a Thomas Howell layup with 2:37 showing in the half. Harrison, who led ULM with 15 first-half points, stroked his third 3-pointer at the buzzer to give ULM a 37-35 edge at halftime.

The Warhawks stormed out of the locker room with a 12-2 surge and held a 49-37 lead with 15:59 to go in the game.

After trailing by as many as 14 points, Little Rock clawed back to tie the score at 64-64 with 6:29 remaining on a 3-pointer by C.J. White. The Trojans used an 8-0 run to close the gap. ULM finished with a 16-8 run to top a tough foe.

Nikola Maric led Little Rock with 24 points with Isaiah Palermo adding 19.

THE LAST TIME OUT –
ULM 60, Arkansas State 59 (Feb. 3, 2022, in Jonesboro, Ark.): Andre Jones matched his season high with 21 points and Nika Metskhvarishvili buried the game-winning 3-pointer from the left corner with 16.6 seconds left as ULM stormed back from a 14-point second-half deficit for a 60-59 victory at Arkansas State Thursday night.

The Warhawks snapped a four-game losing streak in Sun Belt Conference play while winning for just the second time in 18 games at First National Bank Arena.

Arkansas State jumped out to a 6-2 lead, but ULM (11-12, 3-8 Sun Belt) answered with a 15-4 run to take a 17-10 lead on Koreem Ozier's 3-pointer from the right wing with 11:50 left in the first half. The Red Wolves responded with a 10-5 spurt and pulled to within 22-20 on Keyon Wesley's layup with 7:11 on the clock. A pair of free throws from Langston Powell gave the Warhawks a 24-20 lead with 6:09 remaining. A-State outscored ULM, 9-2, over the last 5:46 to take a 29-26 lead into the intermission.

The Warhawks made only one of their last 11 first-half field-goal attempts and went the last 4:51 without a basket.

A-State (14-6, 5-3) opened the second half with a 12-4 run to build a 41-28 advantage on Wesley's dunk with 15:58 on the clock. ULM went 6:52 between made field goals, from the first to second half. The Red Wolves led by as many as 14 points on three occasions – the last time at 48-34 on an alley-oop dunk by Markise Davis with 12:00 left. ULM reeled off 11 consecutive points and cut its deficit to three at 48-45 on a dunk by Jones with 8:31 to go. The Warhawks went 5-for-5 from the floor during the stretch while A-State missed five-straight shots during a four-minute scoring drought.

ULM got two free throws from Russell Harrison and Jones connected on a 3 from the left wing out of a timeout to tie the score at 52-all with 5:16 remaining. Norchad Omier made two free throws and scored on a rebound dunk as the Red Wolves grabbed a 56-52 advantage with 3:44 to play. Harrison knocked down a 17-foot, step-back jumper from the left side of the lane as the Warhawks rallied to within 56-54 with 2:56 on the clock. After Desi Sills converted two free throws to extend A-State's lead to 58-54, Ozier answered with a deep 3-pointer from the left wing to pull ULM back to within one at 58-57 with 2:23 left. Caleb Fields hit the first of two free-throw attempts to give the Red Wolves a 59-57 advantage with 41.9 seconds remaining. Ozier drove down the lane and passed the ball out to Metskhvarishvili, who delivered the go-ahead 3 with 16.6 seconds on the clock. It marked ULM's first lead since 26-24 at the 4:51 mark in the opening half.

The Warhawks had to come up with two defensive stops in the closing seconds to preserve the lead. First, Sills missed a layup with :02 left, but Omier gathered the offensive rebound and A-State called a 30-second timeout. Off the inbound pass, Fields misfired on a desperation, off-balance 3-point attempt from the top of the circle as time expired.

For the game, ULM hit 23-of-53 field-goal attempts (43 percent), including 5-of-12 3-pointers (42 percent). By comparison, A-State shot 36 percent (22-of-61) from the floor, including just 4-of-22 from 3-point range (18 percent). The Red Wolves outrebounded the Warhawks, 42-33, and enjoyed a 16-4 advantage in second-chance points, thanks to 16 offensive rebounds.

Jones made 10-of-17 shots from the field, including 1-of-2 3s, and finished with 21 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Ozier contributed 14 points, with nine coming in the second half, and nine rebounds to match his career high.

Harrison, who went scoreless in the first 20 minutes, scored nine second-half points.

Omier recorded his 10th consecutive double-double with 23 points and an arena-record 26 rebounds, including 10 offensive boards.

A-State also got 14 points from Wesley, who connected on 7-of-8 field-goal attempts.

The Red Wolves' three starting guards (Sills 3-of-11, Eaton 1-of-9 and Fields 1-of-11) went a combined 5-of-34 from the floor (14 percent), including 3-of-16 from 3-point range.

QUOTING KEITH RICHARD –
Little Rock scouting report:
"Little Rock has had a tough stretch, losing three in a row and four of its last five games. But this team has been without multiple layers in conference play due to COVID protocols and injuries. Little Rock has been competitive in most of the league games until the end.

"This team plays with a lot of confidence at home. They look to pound the ball inside to Nikola Maric although they will post up some guards as well. Little Rock looks to push the ball in transition on both made and missed shots, and this team will attack the offensive boards.

"Maric has great touch around the basket, so we have to find ways to push him off the low block. We also must to a good job of finding him when a shot goes up because he's difficult to box out.

"Isaiah Palermo is another double-figure scorer for Little Rock. Palermo looks to attack the basket off the dribble, but at 6-5, he's comfortable posting up too. He also doesn't hesitate to shoot the open 3."

On team's perseverance in road win at Arkansas State:
"That's a really good win. Our guys never quit. Even when we got down by 14 early in the second half, they kept playing hard. We began missing some plays at the rim early in the second half, which allowed A-State to get out in transition and score. Their guards are really fast. We needed some makes to slow down their transition game. Finally, we started finishing plays at the rim. Those makes combined with our 2-3 zone helped get us back into the game. The zone was really good to us, then we switched to our man-to-man for the last five minutes, and I thought our guys really showed some grit down the stretch."

On Andre Jones' performance against A-State:
"Andre Jones played his best game of the year. It wasn't just that he scored 21 points, but he played his best defensive game as well. Andre was really in tune to what we were trying to do on both ends of the floor. He really had a great game."

On Nika Metskhvarishvili's game-winning 3:
"Nika had two good looks from 3 tonight, and he missed the first one. We put the ball in Koreem Ozier's hands in that late-game situation because he had a better match-up defensively and could get into the lane. Sure enough, Koreem penetrated into the lane and found Nika wide open in the corner. And I can tell you he doesn't miss many of those (shots)."

On Koreem Ozier's defensive effort against A-State's Marquis Eaton:
"Koreem Ozier played a tremendous defensive game against Marquis Eaton. He held Eaton (1-of-9 FG shooting) to three points and came up with a couple of key steals."

2021-22 ULM STARTING LINEUPS –
                                     Guard   Guard Guard Forward     Forward
Nov. 9 at LSU: Gonzales, Jones, Gee, Harrison, Howell
Nov. 12 at Auburn: Gonzales, Boston, Gee, Harrison, Howell
Nov. 16 vs. Champion Christian: Gonzales, Jones, Gee, Harrison, Howell
Nov. 22 vs. Northwestern State: Gonzales, Jones, Ozier         , Harrison, Howell
Nov. 24 vs. Louisiana Tech: Gonzales, Jones, Ozier, Harrison, Howell
Nov. 28 at SMU: Jones, Ozier, Powell, Harrison, Howell
Dec. 1 vs. Centenary: Jones, Ozier, Powell, Harrison, Howell
Dec. 4 vs. Northwestern State: Gonzales, Ozier, Jones, Harrison, Howell
Dec. 8 vs. Louisiana Christian: Gonzales, Powell, Jones, Harrison, Howell
Dec. 14 at SFA: Gonzales, Powell, Jones, Harrison, Howell
Dec. 18 vs. Southern Miss: Gonzales, Ozier, Jones, Harrison, Howell
Dec. 20 at Lamar: Gonzales, Ozier, Jones, Harrison, Howell
Dec. 30 at Coastal Carolina*: Gonzales, Ozier, Jones, Harrison, Howell
Jan. 1 at App State*: Gonzales, Ozier, Jones, Harrison, Howell
Jan. 6 vs. Little Rock*: Jones, Ozier, Harrison, Metskhvarishvili, Howell
Jan. 8 vs. Arkansas State*: Jones, Ozier, Powell, Harrison, Howell
Jan. 13 at Texas State*: Gonzales, Powell, Harrison, Metskhvarishvili, Howell
Jan. 15 at UT Arlington*: Gonzales, Williams, Harrison, Metskhvarishvili, Howell
Jan. 20 vs. Troy*: Gonzales, Ozier, Jones, Harrison, Howell
Jan. 22 vs. South Alabama*: Jones, Ozier, Harrison, Metskhvarishvili, Howell
Jan. 27 vs. Georgia Southern*: Gonzales, Ozier, Jones, Harrison, Metskhvarishvili
Jan. 29 vs. Georgia State*: Jones, Ozier, Powell, Harrison, Howell
Feb. 3 at Arkansas State*: Jones, Ozier, Powell, Harrison, Howell
*Sun Belt Conference game

Different Starting Combinations (9):
Gonzales, Jones, Ozier, Harrison, Howell: 8 (4-4)
Jones, Ozier, Powell, Harrison, Howell: 5 (2-3)
Gonzales, Powell, Jones, Harrison, Howell: 2 (2-0)
Gonzales, Jones, Gee, Harrison, Howell: 2 (1-1)
Jones, Ozier, Harrison, Metskhvarishvili, Howell: 2 (1-1)
Gonzales, Williams, Harrison, Metskhvarishvili, Howell: 1 (1-0)
Gonzales, Ozier, Jones, Harrison, Metskhvarishvili: 1 (0-1)
Gonzales, Powell, Harrison, Metskhvarishvili, Howell: 1 (0-1)
Gonzales, Boston, Gee, Harrison, Howell: 1 (0-1)

2021-22 WARHAWK STATISTICAL TRENDS –
Games played in Fant-Ewing Coliseum: 6-4
Games played on the road: 4-8
Games played at a neutral site: 1-0

Games played in November: 2-4
Games played in December: 6-1
Games played in January: 2-7
Games played in February: 1-0
Games played in March: 0-0

When leading at halftime: 7-5
When trailing at halftime: 3-7
When tied at halftime: 1-0

When shooting .500 or better from the field: 7-1
When shooting less than .500 from the field: 4-11
When opponent shoots .500 or better from the field: 0-6
When opponent shoots less than .500 from the floor: 11-6

When outrebounding opponent: 7-2
When outrebounded by opponent: 4-10
When rebounding totals are equal: 0-0

When hitting more free throws than opponent: 6-2
When hitting fewer free throws than opponent: 5-8
When hitting the same number of free throws as opponent: 0-2

When committing fewer turnovers than opponent: 8-4
When opponent commits fewer turnovers: 2-8
When turnover totals are equal: 1-0

When ULM scores less than 50 points: 0-2
When ULM scores 50-59 points: 0-2
When ULM scores 60-69 points: 2-6
When ULM scores 70-79 points: 1-1
When ULM scores 80-89 points: 5-1
When ULM scores 90+ points: 3-0

When opponent scores less than 50 points: 0-0
When opponent scores 50-59 points: 3-1
When opponent scores 60-69 points: 5-1
When opponent scores 70-79 points: 3-4
When opponent scores 80-89 points: 0-1
When opponent scores 90+ points: 0-5

Games decided by five points or less: 2-1
Games decided by 6-10 points: 3-4
Games decided by 11-19 points: 2-3
Games decided by 20 points or more: 4-4

Largest deficit overcome to win: 14 (44-30, 46-32 and 48-34 at Arkansas State, Feb. 3)
Largest lead surrendered in a loss: 11 (66-55 vs. Arkansas State, Jan. 8; 25-14 vs. South Alabama, Jan. 22)

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