TIP-OFF
The ULM men's basketball team (4-8) wraps up non-conference play on Tuesday (Dec. 17) night at 7:30 p.m. as the Warhawks welcome Houston Christian (3-7) to Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
ULM whittled an early 19-point deficit to one midway through the second half on Saturday at UT Arlington, but fell 77-68 on the road. ULM snapped a three-game losing streak on Wednesday night with an 89-73 home victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff. The Warhawks raced ahead late with a 14-2 scoring run in the final 3:36 to secure its first win in December and improve to 3-3 inside Fant-Ewing Coliseum in the 2024-25 season.
SERIES HISTORY –
Tuesday's game will be the 27th meeting between ULM and Houston Christian, and the matchup marks the first time the schools will have played since 1984. ULM, formerly known as Northeast Louisiana University (NLU), holds an 18-8 series lead. However, Houston Christian, formerly known as Houston Baptist, has won five of the last six matchups.
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES –
Houston Christian opened Southland Conference action with an 83-79 win over East Texas A&M before falling to Northwestern State on Dec. 7. Tuesday's game will be the first game for HCU since its Dec. 7 game versus the Demons.
Three Huskies average above 10 points per game, led by forward Julian Mackey's 13.6 points per contest. First-year head coach captured a pair of NJCCA National Championships at Rock Valley College in Illinois before winning the 2018 NAIA National Championship at Graceland University.
RICHARD IN CHARGE–
The 2024-25 season marks the 15th year of Keith Richard leading ULM men's basketball and his 24th season overall as a head coach. Richard inherited a program saddled with APR sanctions and guided the Warhawks to four postseason appearances in five years. Richard's historic turnaround of the ULM program began in 2014-15, which was his first season without APR sanctions. Richard previously served as the head coach of Louisiana Tech from 1998-2007 and was an assistant at LSU from 2008-10 before being named ULM's head coach.
FAMILIAR FACES –
The Warhawks welcome back 10 players from the 2023-24 roster including starters Tyreese Watson, Jalen Bolden and Jerry Ngopot. Key role players including Jacob Wilson, Makai Willis and AD Diedhiou are also back after playing in more than 10 games last season.
KEY ADDITIONS –
The 2024 ULM men's basketball signing class featured four new Warhawks to the 2024-25 roster. ULM signed two high school prospects (Micah Caster & Renars Sondors), one four-year transfer (Coltie Young) and one junior college transfer (Ta'Zir Smith) in the 2024 class. Additionaly, Phil Cunningham was introduced as an assistant head coach during the offseason. Cunningham brings over 25 years of collegiate coaching experience at the Division I level.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT'S STANDOUT PERFORMANCES –
Two Warhawks notched career-highs in Wednesday night's win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Leading the Way for ULM was Jackson State transfer Coltie Young, who finished with 28 points and AD Diedhiou, who registered a career-high 16 points. Tyreese Watson passed a career-high 11 assists and recorded a double-double with 16 points.
LOOKING AHEAD –
ULM is set to begin Sun Belt Conference play at home on Saturday (Dec. 21) afternoon versus Old Dominion.
