LAFAYETTE, La. – The Ragin' Cajuns took any doubt out of the game early, quickly building a double-digit lead before going up 31 at halftime and coasting to a 84-67 win at the Cajundome.
 
After ULM tied the game at 2 on a jumper by Tyreke Locure in the lane, the Cajuns canned back-to-back 3-pointers, one by Themus Fulks and another by Kentrell Garnett, to take a six-point lead, 8-2. ULM got no closer than four at 8-4 on a layup by Langston Powell. The Cajuns quickly built a 10-point lead, 15-5, on a turnaround jumper by Jordan Brown at the 14:17 mark. The lead ballooned to 22 at 32-10 on a 3-pointer by Kobe Julien with 9:18 to go before halftime. The Cajuns pushed the lead out to 31 at halftime after Joe Charles hit a 3-pointer with 40 seconds left in the half for a 49-18 lead at the break. ULM shot just 27% (6-of-22) from the field and 1-of-9 from the 3-point line with 12 turnovers in the first half.
 
"That's twice we've played them where the first half has been disastrous for us," ULM head coach Keith Richard said. "I don't know why. We prepared well. We had 12 turnovers at half and that killed us. They're running out on us in transition off those turnovers. They're really fast in transition, especially here at home. I thought we got our head down a little bit in about the middle of the first half and obviously, that didn't go well. We tried to regroup at halftime and talked about competing in the second half."
 
ULM improved on both ends of the floor in the second half, outscoring the Cajuns 49-35 after halftime. The Warhawks cut the gap to as little as 13 at 70-57 with 5:01 to play on a layup by Jalen Bolden. ULM shot 57% (17-of-30) from the field in the second half, including 55% (6-of-11) from 3-point range while committing just four turnovers.
 
Thomas Howell led ULM with 16 points on 6-of-11 field-goal attempts, including a 2-of-3 clip from the 3-point line.
 
"It was the way that they were playing us defensively, really shading the guards a lot in particular, again, to Jamari and Tyreke," Richard said. "We needed that third guy to be assertive. I talked to Thomas about it before the game, and I thought he was pretty assertive throughout the game. He needs to continue to do that because the scouting report is out on us. This is about four or five games in a row where they're really up in our guards. We have to find other ways and other methods of scoring. Certainly Thomas can be a big part of that."
 
Tyreke Locure added 13 points and Jalen Bolden added 11 points for his second double-figure effort of the season. Themus Fulks led the Cajuns with a game-high 17 points, while Jordan Brown added 15 points, Kentrell Garnett had 12 and Terence Lewis tallied 11.
 
ULM shot 44% (23-of-52) from the field, 35% (7-of-20) from the 3-point line and made 14-of-21 (67%) free-throw attempts. The Cajuns shot 47% (28-of-60) from the floor, 38% (9-of-24) from 3-point range and made 19-of-25 (76%) free-throw attempts. The Cajuns outrebounded ULM 35-31. ULM committed 16 turnovers to six for the Cajuns.
 
ULM plays its final road game of the 2022-23 regular season at 3 p.m. Saturday at South Alabama.