ULM Warhawks

Game 4: Ecclesia Royals (2-4 overall) at ULM Warhawks (1-2 overall, 0-0 Sun Belt Conference)
6:30 p.m. Monday, November 20 | Fant-Ewing Coliseum | Monroe, Louisiana
WATCH: ESPN+ | LISTEN: 105.3 FM KLIP | LIVE STATS

GAME NOTES

MONROE, La. - ULM looks to get on the right track as the Warhawks take on Ecclesia at 6:30 p.m. Monday at Fant-Ewing Coliseum. ULM is coming off a 73-63 loss to Louisiana Tech last Thursday. Ecclesia is playing Monday's game as an exhibition, and is 2-4 on the season. The Royals are coming off an 83-48 exhibition loss last Friday at Southern Arkansas.

• ULM led twice briefly in the first half in the 73-63 loss to LA Tech. Tyreke Locure and Nika Metskhvarishvili led ULM with 15 points each. Locure added five rebounds, four assists and three steals, while Metskhvarishvili had six rebounds, three assists and three steals.
• Through the first three games of the season, Metskhvarishvili and Locure are the only two Warhawks averaging 10.0 points per game or more. Both are tied at 11.7 points per game. 

• ULM has won its last 22 games against opponents from outside of NCAA Division I, including a 3-0 mark in the 2022-23 season. The Warhawks defeated Dallas Christian, Central Baptist and Champion Christian last season. ULM also will face Champion Christian this season on Dec. 5.

MONDAY'S GAME BASICS    
ULM meets Ecclesia for the first time in program history at 6:30 p.m. Monday at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.

ULM is 1-2 to open the season after last Thursday's 73-63 loss to Louisiana Tech at Fant-Ewing Coliseum. The Warhawks picked up their first win of the season on Nov. 11 at Central Michigan, 74-64. ULM suffered an 84-31 loss to No. 7/6 Houston on Nov. 6. Tyreke Locure and Nika Metskhvarishvili are tied for the team lead at 11.7 points per game.

ULM head coach Keith Richard has never faced Ecclesia.

Ecclesia is 2-4 on the season with wins over Calvary University, 103-59, on Oct. 31, and Pensacola Christian College, 73-64, on Nov. 3. The Royals have lost to Champion Christian (75-74 on Oct. 27), College of Biblical Studies-Houston (81-72 on Oct. 28), Lyon (91-80 on Nov. 10) and Spurgeon (102-91 on Nov. 14). The Royals have also lost exhibitions against NCAA Division II schools Ouachita Baptist (103-73 on Nov. 16) and Southern Arkansas (83-48 on Nov. 17).

Ecclesia head coach Vlad Chira has never faced ULM.

Monday's game will stream on ESPN+ with Sean Fox (play-by-play) and Mike Vining (analyst) on the call. The game also will 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 ECCLESIA    
Ecclesia enters Monday night's game at ULM with a 2-4 record on the season, and has played two exhibition contests against NCAA Division II schools in Ouachita Baptist and Southern Arkansas.

Ecclesia is led by guard Ryan Reed with 21.0 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. Reed has totaled 20 or more points in five games, including a 30-point effort (6-of-12 3-point field goals) vs. Ouachita Baptist last Thursday. He has knocked down three or more 3-pointers in four games.

Junior guard/forward Jerry Boston is second on the team at 9.3 points per game while adding 5.0 rebounds per game. Senior guard/forward Jesus Abel Jimenez has come off the bench to average 8.7 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. 

LAST TIME OUT    
Louisiana Tech 73, ULM 63 on Nov. 16, 2023, in Monroe, Louisiana – 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

LOCURE NAMED PRESEASON THIRD-TEAM ALL-SUN BELT CONFERENCE    
ULM senior guard Tyreke Locure was named Preseason Second-Team All-Sun Belt Conference following a vote of the league's head coaches, the conference announced Oct. 16.

Locure has tallied double-figures in each of the last two games, scoring 15 points with five rebounds, four assists and three steals last Thursday vs. Louisiana Tech and had 13 points while adding team highs with six rebounds, six assists and three steals on Nov. 11 at Central Michigan.
 
Locure returns for his second season at ULM after leading the team in scoring (14.4 points per game), steals (1.8 pg.), field goals made per game (5.0 pg.) and 3-point field goals made per game (2.1 pg.) in 2022-23. He added 4.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. He ranked fourth in the SBC in steals per game, sixth in 3-point field goals made per game, eighth in scoring, 14th in free-throw percentage (.762) and minutes per game (31.9) and 15th in assists per game and 3-point field goal percentage (.370). He scored in double figures 26 times and topped 20 points five times. He scored a career high 33 points vs. Troy on Feb. 22. His numbers improved inside of SBC play to 15.4 points and 4.6 rebounds per game while adding 2.4 assists and 1.7 steals per game. He shot 41% (43-of-104) from the 3-point line and 83% (53-of-64) from the free throw line in SBC action.

GALLION MOVES TO STARTING LINEUP    
ULM senior guard Savion Gallion has started the first two games of the 2023-24 season, and led ULM in scoring in the season opener at No. 7/6 Houston on Nov. 6 with eight points.

Gallion returns after playing a pivotal role off the bench and as a spot starter in 2022-23. He played in all 32 games with 12 starts in his first season at ULM and averaged a career-best 7.5 points and 2.5 rebounds per game while adding 32 assists and 19 steals. He shot 38% (78-of-204) from the field and 26% (20-of-73) from 3-point range while knocking down 72% (65-of-90) from the free-throw line. He reached double figures 10 times.

Gallion scored a career-high 15 points (3-of-5 3-point field-goal attempts) while adding three rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block while playing 34 minutes for the second time in his career vs. Troy on Feb. 22. He scored eight points and added a career-high tying five rebounds vs. South Alabama on Feb. 4. Gallion matched his career-high with five rebounds and added four points (4-of-4 free-throw attempts) at Marshall on Jan. 26. He came off the bench to play 34 minutes for the first time in his career, scoring 11 points with a career-high matching four assists vs. Texas State on Jan. 14. He once again scored 13 points (5-of-8 field-goal attempts) vs. Ragin' Cajuns on Jan. 12. He came off the bench for nine points, including 4-of-6 free throws down the stretch, to open SBC play at Texas State on Dec. 29.

Gallion picked up 11 points with four rebounds and two assists vs. Jacksonville on Dec. 20 to wrap up non-conference action. He tallied 11 points with four assists, one steal and one block vs. Lamar on Dec. 17. He collected 13 points (3-of-4 3-point field-goal attempts) with two rebounds and two assists at Northwestern State on Dec. 10. He scored eight points with four rebounds and added a career-high matching three steals vs. Champion Christian on Dec. 3. He hit two 3-pointers in one game for the first time in his career, finishing with eight points and two rebounds at Tulane on Nov. 28. He tallied 11 points with four rebounds, two assists and one steal in return to starting lineup vs. Loyola Maryland on Nov. 26. He picked up a career-high three assists vs. Omaha on Nov. 25. Gallion had a career-high five rebounds to go with five points at TCU on Nov. 17. He picked up 13 points and three rebounds vs. Central Baptist on Nov. 14. He had his first double-figure scoring game with 12 points and two assists vs. Dallas Christian on Nov. 10. Gallion made his ULM debut, scoring nine points (7-of-8 free-throw shooting) with one rebound at Texas A&M on Nov. 7.

METSKHVARISHVILI RETURNS FROM INJURY    
Senior forward Nika Metskhvarishvili has started the first three games of 2023-24, and led ULM in scoring twice. He tallied 15 points with six rebounds, three assists and three steals last Thursday vs. Louisiana Tech. with 16 points (7-of-11 field-goal attempts) while adding three rebounds, three assists and one steal last Saturday at Central Michigan.

Metskhvarishvili was cleared to return to action just before the start of official practice in late September, and returns to the Warhawk lineup after missing all but five games in the 2022-23 season due to a knee injury.

When he left the lineup after five games last season, Metskhvarishvili was second on the team in scoring at 9.8 points per game and rebounding at 5.8 boards 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. He was named a Preseason Third-Team All-Sun Belt Conference selection prior to the 2022-23 season.

Metskhvarishvili appeared in 28 games with five starts in his first season at ULM as a second-year sophomore in 2021-22, 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.

WATSON, WILLIS, NGOPOT, McCRANEY TRANSFER IN TO ULM    
ULM head coach Keith Richard added six newcomers to his 2023-24 group, with returning forward AD Diedhiou making a seventh newcomer after missing all of 2022-23 with an injury. Four of the six newcomers are transfers to the ULM program, including guard Tyreese Watson, forward Makai Willis, forward Jerry Ngopot and guard P.D. McCraney.

Watson is a 6-4 guard from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He has made the biggest impact in the early season, scoring 13 points off the bench on 5-of-8 field-goal attempts and 3-of-4 3-point field-goal attempts at Central Michigan on Nov. 11. He played the last two seasons at Cochise College in Sierra Vista, Arizona. Cochise finished the 2022-23 season with a 29-3 record, which included a 27-game winning streak, and finished ranked No. 11 in the NJCAA poll. The Apaches compiled a 58-7 record over Watson's two seasons.
 
Watson led the team in scoring with 19.6 points per game and increased his scoring average to 20.6 points per game in conference play. He totaled 20 or more points 18 times and posted a season-high of 36 points. Watson scored 1,077 points over his two seasons at Cochise. He added 3.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game while shooting 37% from the 3-point line. He shot 42% from deep inside conference play.
 
Watson is the brother of former Creighton standout and current professional player Maurice Watson, Jr. He played high school basketball at Monsignor Bonner High School.
 
Willis is a 6-9 forward from Tallahassee, Florida, and a transfer from Fairfield after previously attending Florida State School. He posted career highs of 14 points and eight rebounds with the Stags, while his freshman season was shortened due to injury.
 
Willis was a promising prospect coming out of the Florida prep ranks, where he was a state champion in one of the top classifications. He played for legendary coach, former NBA veteran, Heisman Trophy winner and Florida State legend Charlie Ward.
 
Willis is expected to add bulk, length and depth to ULM's frontcourt.

Ngopot spent the last two seasons at Saint Peter's in Jersey City, New Jersey, and redshirted on the Peacocks' 2021-22 Elite Eight team. In 2022-23, he played in 24 games for Saint Peter's and played double-figure minutes eight times as a reserve. At ULM, he has nearly set all new career highs, including a seven-point, five-rebound effort vs. Louisiana Tech last Thursday.
 
The Bangui, Central African Republic, native adds size, length and depth to the Warhawk front court. He has a wingspan measured at 7-1. He has participated in NBA's Basketball Without Borders and NBA Academy Africa.
 
Ngopot is one of seven siblings.

McCraney, the all-time leading scorer in Neville High School history with 2,166 points, comes to ULM with three years of eligibility remaining.
 
McCraney played the 2022-23 season at Hinds Community College in Utica, Mississippi. He was a Second-Team All-MACCC selection as a freshman for the Bulldogs after averaging 21.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. He shot 49.4% from the field and 81.6% from the free-throw line. He compiled a team-high 31 steals on the season.
 
While playing at Neville, McCraney became the only Tiger to eclipse 2,000 points in his high school career. He led NHS to the quarterfinals of the Class 4A State Tournament and 24 wins as a senior in 2022. He was a First-Team All-State selection, averaging 22.4 points, six rebounds and five assists per game for the Tigers. He was the Ouachita Citizen's 2022 Boys Basketball Player of the Year. In addition to his on-court accolades, McCraney was an Academic All-State selection.

RICHARD EARNS 300TH CAREER WIN, TIED FOR SECOND IN SBC CAREER WINS    
ULM head coach Keith Richard earned his 300th career win in the 72-59 victory for the Warhawks at Georgia Southern on Jan. 19, 2023.

Richard is in his 14th season as the head coach at his alma mater. The win against Georgia Southern also marked his 150th victory as the head coach at ULM, making it an even split in career victories with another 150 wins over nine seasons at Louisiana Tech from 1998-99 to 2007-08. 

He has won 117 Sun Belt Conference games as a head coach, with 85 at ULM and 32 over his first three seasons at LA Tech before the Bulldogs joined the Western Athletic Conference in 2001-02. He is tied with former Middle Tennesse coach and current Ole Miss coach Kermit Davis for the second-most SBC wins by a head coach.

He has been involved in 731 of the 2,017 games (36%) in ULM program history either as a player, graduate assistant, assistant coach or head coach.