By ULMWarhawks.com Online Columnist Paul Letlow
MONROE, La.  – Louisiana Tech left Fant-Ewing Coliseum with a 73-63 win over ULM on Thursday night.

The Warhawks left the court feeling like there will be better days ahead for them, too, as the team continues to evolve.

"I'm disappointed we lost," ULM coach Keith Richard said. "But I'm not disappointed in them. I wanted them to show me they could compete tonight. That was (like a) league game tonight. That was like a game in February, a conference game that meant something. We're not there yet, but I think we'll get there."

Nika Metskhvarishvili and Tyreke Locure scored 15 points apiece for the Warhawks (1-2), who shot 37 percent (23-of-63). Buckets were hard to come by from start to finish.

"We've got to keep trying to get better offensively," Richard said. "They had a little more offense than we had, which kept the lead for them and we couldn't catch them."

Richard, who spent nine seasons (1998-2007) as Louisiana Tech's head coach, fell to 0-10 against his old team. The Bulldogs have won the last 11 meetings with ULM, stretching back to the 2008-09 season. ULM last defeated Tech, 100-89, on Jan. 28, 1991, in Fant-Ewing Coliseum.

Isaiah Crawford led three Bulldogs in double figures scoring with 24 points. Daniel Batcho and Jaylin Henderson added 12 points each to the cause.

"They're just a little better than us offensively right now," Richard said. "It was a physical game. Very physical. I wanted our guys to match it and I think for the most part, we did at times."

ULM outrebounded Tech 42-38 and held a 14-8 edge on second-chance points. Tech countered by outscoring ULM 15-7 on fastbreak points. Jalen Bolden led ULM with seven rebounds while Metskhvarishvili and AD Diedhiou added six boards each. Locure and Jerry Ngopot collected five apiece.

"One thing you feel playing against us is those four bigs. Those four bigs lay on you," Richard said of ULM's big men. "They're not thin and they've got a little muscle to them. Through the course of a game, it kind of wears on the other team. I think that's going to be a strength for us moving forward."

ULM missed its first seven shots from the field before Diedhiou's layup at the 15:35 mark. The Warhawks opened the game 1-of-15 shooting until Locure's 3-pointer cut the deficit to 7-5 with 12:02 remaining in the half.

Metskhvarishvili's basket at the 7:20 mark shaved Tech's edge to 15-14 before the Bolden hit a pair of free throws to give the Warhawks their first lead at 16-15.

Despite a scoring drought of 5:50 to finish the first half, ULM trailed just 28-23 going into halftime.

"We struggled in the first half," Richard said. "There's no question. The team was playing hard, we rebounded well and were playing good defense. But you've got to have some offense along the way."

The Warhawks shot 21 percent (7-of-34) from the field and 7-of-11 from the line in the first half. Tech shot 36 percent (9-of-25), led by Crawford's 13 points.

A 6-0 run early in the second half helped Tech extend its lead to 37-29. The Bulldogs would lead by as many as 12 and maintained a seven-point or more cushion for much of the half.

ULM's Makai Willis stroked a jumper with 2:37 left in regulation to cut Tech's edge to 64-59. But the Bulldogs answered with a 3-pointer on the other end and pulled away.

"I thought we had a chance there for a minute," Richard said. "But give them credit. They did just enough to keep us at bay."

Tailfeathers: The Warhawks return to action Monday for their next home game. ULM tips off at Fant-Ewing Coliseum vs. Ecclesia at 6:30 p.m. … Ngopot's first-half 3-pointer was the first of his career.  … ULM shot 55.2 percent in the second half. ... Attendance was announced at 1,702.