ULM Warhawks

Game 24: ULM (9-14 overall, 4-8 Sun Belt Conference) at Southern Miss (14-11 overall, 7-5 Sun Belt Conference)
7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024 | Reed Green Coliseum | Hattiesburg, Mississippi
WATCH: ESPN+ | LISTEN: 105.3 FM KLIP | LIVE STATS
GAME NOTES

MONROE, La. - The ULM men's basketball team returns to Sun Belt Conference play with the first game of a two-game road swing, visiting Southern Miss at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Reed Green Coliseum in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

• Both teams are coming off back-to-back wins, with ULM knocking off Coastal Carolina, 79-75, and Eastern Michigan in the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge, 82-76, last week at Fant-Ewing Coliseum, while Southern Miss won a pair of home games against Old Dominion, 78-73, and Western Michigan in the MAC-SBC Challenge, 86-54.

• ULM (9-14 overall, 4-8 Sun Belt Conference) blitzed out to a 9-0 lead, then answered Eastern Michigan's run to take the lead by pulling back away and picking up the 82-76 win last Saturday in the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge at Fant-Ewing Coliseum. Tyreke Locure played one of his best games as a Warhawk, leading the way with a season-high 25 points and career-high 10 rebounds for his first career double-double, while matching his season-best with six assists. Nika Metskhvarishvili scored 20 points while Savion Gallion added 11 points.

• Since ULM's offensive resurgence began in the second half at James Madison on Jan. 18, the Warhawks have become one of the top offenses in the Sun Belt Conference. Since Jan. 17 (eight games), ULM leads the SBC in field goal percentage (.483), ranks second in 3-point field goal percentage (.388) and fifth in scoring offense (78.5 points per game). Overall on the season, ULM is 10th in the SBC in field goal percentage (.431), 14th in 3-point field goal percentage (.298) and 11th in scoring offense (71.0 ppg.). The Warhawks have scored at least 70 points in eight-straight games after scoring 70-or-more points just five times in the first 15 games of the season.

• Metskhvarishvili has scored 20-or-more points in each of the last three games and four times in the last five games. Over the last five games, he is averaging 20.4 points per game while shooting 59% (40-of-68) from the field and 48% (10-of-21) from the 3-point line.

THURSDAY'S GAME BASICS    
ULM resumes Sun Belt Conference play with the second meeting of the season against Southern Miss at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Reed Green Coliseum in Hattiesburg. Southern Miss defeated ULM, 71-58, in the first meeting on Jan. 11 in Monroe.

ULM has won five of its last seven games to move the Warhawks to 9-14 overall and 4-8 in the Sun Belt Conference. ULM swept last week's homestand, defeating Coastal Carolina, 79-75, on Feb. 7, and Eastern Michigan in the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge, 82-76, last Saturday. The Warhawks are 2-9 on the road this season with wins against Central Michigan (74-64) in the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge and at Old Dominion (80-73) and losses to No. 7/6 Houston (81-34), SMU (70-57), Sam Houston (63-62), Lamar (97-73), Jacksonville (75-65), App State (67-55), James Madison (89-70), Ragin' Cajuns (80-72) and at Arkansas State (95-80).

Southern Miss has won its last two games, sweeping the first two games of a four-game homestand, knocking off Old Dominion, 78-73, on Feb. 7 and Western Michigan in the MAC-SBC Challenge, 86-54, last Saturday. The Golden Eagles are 9-1 inside Reed Green Coliseum this season, with wins over William Carey (64-42), Xavier (La.) (76-45), Northwestern State (83-74), Georgia State (79-73), James Madison (81-71), Arkansas State (69-66), Troy (64-63), Old Dominion and Western Michigan. South Dakota State is the only team that has picked up a win in Hattiesburg this season, with the Jackrabbits earning a 65-54 win on Nov. 22.

Thursday's game is the 42nd meeting between ULM and Southern Miss, with USM leading the series, 25-16. The Golden Eagles have won each of the last three meetings. USM topped ULM, 71-58, on Jan. 11, and won both meetings last year, taking a 65-60 win in Monroe on Jan. 7 and a 76-67 victory in Hattiesburg on Feb. 11. They were the first two meetings as conference opponents in series history after USM joined the SBC prior to the 2022-23 season.

ULM head coach Keith Richard is 1-5 all-time against Southern Miss including a 1-4 mark while head coach of the Warhawks. Southern Miss head coach Jay Ladner is 4-2 all-time against ULM, including a 3-1 record as head coach of the Golden Eagles.

Thursday's game will stream on ESPN+ with Lee Roberts (play-by-play) and Larry Boyd (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 SOUTHERN MISS    
Southern Miss is one of the top teams in the SBC at getting to the free throw line and converting their opportunities. The Golden Eagles are second in the SBC at 15.2 made free throws per game and third in the SBC at 21.6 free throw attempts per game. Defensively, USM is second in the SBC and 40th in NCAA Division I with 4.7 blocked shots per game.

Austin Crowley leads the Golden Eagles with 16.0 points per game, which ranks sixth in the SBC. He has reached double figure scoring 22 times and has topped 20 points six times. He has collected back-to-back double-doubles, including last Saturday's 10-point, 10-assist effort against Western Michigan. He had his second double-double of the season on Feb. 7 vs. Old Dominion, scoring a season-high 30 points (5-of-9 3-point field goal attempts) with 11 rebounds and three assists. His first double-double came in the season opener against William Carey with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Crowley also is ranked second in the SBC in minutes per game (33.55), seventh in assists per game (3.4 pg.), 10th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.51), 14th in free throw percentage (.740) and 3-point field goals made per game (1.80 pg.) and 15th in field goal percentage (.374). Crowley scored 20 points and tracked down six rebounds with three assists in the first meeting with ULM on Jan. 11. His averages increase to 17.8 points and 4.7 rebounds per game inside SBC play.

Victor Hart is second on the team at 13.2 points per game while leading the team at 6.1 rebounds per game. He has scored in double figures in 14 games. He suffered an injury in the second half at ULM on Jan. 11 and returned to the USM lineup last Saturday, scoring 11 points (3-of-4 3-point field goal attempts) with three rebounds against Western Michigan. He had his fourth double-double of the year in the game at ULM before exiting, racking up 11 points and a season-high 14 rebounds. He has topped 20 points twice, including a season-high 26 points (10-of-14 field goal attempts) at UAB on Dec. 1. He picked up 23 points (9-of-13 field goals) vs. Cal State Fullerton on Nov. 20. He posted double-doubles with 13 points and 11 rebounds vs. Ole Miss on Dec. 23, 17 points and 12 rebounds vs. Northwestern State on Dec. 9 and 16 points and 10 rebounds vs. South Dakota State on Nov. 22.

Donovan Ivory is the third Golden Eagle averaging double figures at 13.1 points per game while adding 4.4 rebounds per game. He has scored in double figures 16 times, including a season high 32 points (6-of-10 3-point field goal attempts) with five rebounds and four steals at Milwaukee (Nov. 25). Ivory has scored in double figures eight times in the last 10 games, including a 22-point effort at ULM on Jan. 11. He scored 28 points (6-of-7 3-point field goal attempts) at Coastal Carolina on Jan. 24. He leads the SBC in free throw percentage (.892) and ranks ninth in minutes played per game (31.73 pg.), 10th in steals per game (1.38 pg.), 13th in 3-point field goals made per game (1.88 pg.) and 17th in scoring. 

Victor Iwuakor has made 20 starts and is averaging 9.3 points and 5.8 rebounds per game with 12 double-figure scoring efforts, including eight in the last nine games. He has four double-doubles in the last eight games, including back-to-back double-doubles entering Thursday's game. He is coming off a season-high 31 points (12-of-16 field goal attempts) with a season-high 13 rebounds vs. Western Michigan last Saturday. Over the last nine games, he is averaging 13.7 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. He had two points and four rebounds in the first meeting with ULM on Jan. 11.

WARHAWK OFFENSIVE RENAISSANCE    
Over the last eight games, ULM has found its footing on the offensive end of the floor. The Warhawks have scored at least 70 points in each of the last eight games after hitting the mark just five times over the first 15 games of the season. ULM has shot over 43% from the field in seven games in that span, including over 46% six times and 50% three times in the last four games. It is the first time ULM has shot at least 50% from the   field three times in four games since doing so from Dec. 1-14, 2022, against Centenary, Northwestern State and Stephen F. Austin. Here's a comparison of how ULM has grown offensively over the last eight games, since Jan. 17:
 

	First 15 Games (SBC Rank)	Last 8 Games (SBC Rank)	Season Overall (SBC Rank)
FG%	.405 (14)	.483 (1)	.431 (10)
3-point FG%	.261 (14)	.388 (2)	.298 (14)
Scoring offense	66.9 (13)	78.5 (5)	71.0 (11)

METSKHVARISHVILI HITS 20 POINTS FOR THIRD-STRAIGHT GAME    
Senior forward Nika Metskhvarishvili has scored 20-or-more points in each of the last three games and four of the last five games overall entering Thursday's contest at Southern Miss. He has led ULM in scoring 10 times and leads the team in scoring at 12.2 points per game while shooting 44% (96-of-216) from the field. He also leads the team in rebounding at 5.9 boards per game. He is second on the team with 46 assists and 12 blocks. Inside SBC play, he leads the team with 13.0 points per game and is second on the team in rebounding (6.3 pg.) and assists (2.0 pg.). Over the last five games, he is averaging 20.4 points per game while shooting 59% (40-of-68) from the field and 48% (10-of-21) from the 3-point line.

He scored 20 points (8-of-13 field-goal attempts) and added six rebounds with three steals last Saturday vs. Eastern Michigan. He had his third 20-point game of 2023-24 on Feb. 7 against Coastal Carolina, scoring a career-high 28 points (10-of-16 field goal attempts) with seven rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal. Against Arkansas State on Feb. 3, he once again led ULM in scoring, knocking down 8-of-12 field goal attempts and all three 3-point field goal attempts on the afternoon to finish with exactly 20 points and three rebounds against the Red Wolves. The effort came six days after he came off the bench to score a career high 24 points, including the game-tying 3-pointer to force overtime with five seconds left in regulation, while matching a career best 11 rebounds for his third double-double of the season on Jan. 28 vs. A-State. He followed that effort up with 10 points and five rebounds on Jan. 31 at the Ragin' Cajuns. 

He returned to the floor from injury on Jan. 25 against South Alabama and played 14 minutes, scoring five points with four rebounds and two assists after missing the previous two games with an injury. 

He paced ULM with 14 points (7-of-8 free throw attempts) on Jan. 11 vs. Southern Miss. He led ULM in scoring and rebounding for the second-straight game with 16 points and nine rebounds at App State on Dec. 30. 

His three double-doubles on the season rank second on the team. He posted his second double-double of the season and fourth of his career on Dec. 18 at Jacksonville with 17 points and 11 rebounds. He totaled 10 points and 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the year at Lamar on Dec. 14. 

Metskhvarishvili scored a season-high 19 points, pulled in eight rebounds and added a career-high five blocks on Nov. 28 vs. Northwestern State. He played a key role in ULM's second-half rally, scoring 12 of his 19 points while adding seven of his eight rebounds and four of his five blocks. He had six of his eight rebounds on the offensive end.

Metskhvarishvili tallied 15 points with six rebounds, three assists and three steals on Nov. 16 vs. Louisiana Tech. He had 16 points (7-of-11 field-goal attempts) while adding three rebounds, three assists and one steal on Nov. 11 at Central Michigan. He dished out a team-best five assists on Nov. 20 vs. Ecclesia.

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.

LOCURE HEADS DOWN THE STRETCH OF SENIOR SEASON    
ULM senior guard Tyreke Locure came up with his best game of the season to help lead ULM past Eastern Michigan last Saturday in the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge. He had his first career double-double with a season-high 25 points (9-of-16 field goal attempts) and career-high 10 rebounds while matching his season high with six assists while adding one block. It was his third 20-point scoring effort of the season. He earned his second 20-point game of the year with 20 points (8-of-10 free throw attempts) and five rebounds on Jan. 20 at Old Dominion. He had the first 20-plus point game of any Warhawk on the season on Jan. 6 against Georgia Southern, scoring a game-high 24 points (8-of-16 field-goal attempts) while adding four rebounds. He has eight 20-point games in his ULM career after topping 20 points five times last season.

Locure was named Preseason Second-Team All-Sun Belt Conference following a vote of the league's head coaches, the conference announced Oct. 16. He is second on the team in scoring at 10.7 points per game while adding 4.0 rebounds and a team-high 2.9 assists per game. He is third in the Sun Belt Conference in steals at 1.8 steals per game. He has tallied double figure scoring in 10 games, including 15 points, eight rebounds, four steals and three assists on Feb. 7 vs. Coastal Carolina. He played only the second half on Feb. 3 at Arkansas State, scoring 11 points with two rebounds, three assists and two steals. He added 15 points with four rebounds, four assists and four steals on Jan. 25 vs. South Alabama. He totaled 17 points with a career-high matching nine rebounds (four offensive) and two assists on Nov. 28 vs. Northwestern State. He picked up 11 points with five rebounds and two steals vs. Ecclesia on Nov. 20, scored 15 points with five rebounds, four assists and three steals on Nov. 16 vs. Louisiana Tech and had 13 points and added team highs with six rebounds, six assists and three steals on Nov. 11 at Central Michigan. He had just nine points, three rebounds and four assists in nearly 11 minutes of playing time on Dec. 5 vs. Champion Christian.

WATSON LEADS NEWCOMER IMPACT ON 2023-24 TEAM    
ULM junior guard Tyreese Watson has reached double figures in seven of the last 10 games after chipping in 19 points (6-of-10 field-goal attempts) on Feb. 3 at Arkansas State. Over the last 10 games, he is averaging 11.7 points per game. He is averaging 9.3 points per game on the season, ranking third on the team, while shooting 42% from the floor. Inside Sun Belt Conference action, he improves to 10.5 points per game. He has scored in double figures 11 times.

Watson exploded for a career-high 21 points (8-of-12 field goal attempts) on Jan. 31 at the Ragin' Cajuns. He picked up eight of his 10 points after halftime on Jan. 28 vs. Arkansas State. Watson knocked down the game-winning 3-pointer from the left wing with nine seconds left in overtime against the Red Wolves. He set a new career high with 16 points (6-of-10 field goal attempts, 2-of-3 3-point field goal attempts) on Jan. 20 at Old Dominion. He scored 14 points while also tying his career best with five rebounds on Jan. 18 at James Madison.

Watson returned to the starting lineup and scored in double figures for the second straight game with 10 points vs. Texas State on Jan. 13. He had 12 points off the bench on Jan. 11 vs. Southern Miss. He picked up his first career start on Dec. 30 at App State, scoring eight points. He added season highs with five rebounds and four assists. Watson had his first double-figure game with 13 points (3-of-4 3-point field goal attempts) at Central Michigan on Nov. 11. He reached double figures in back-to-back games with 13 points vs. Ecclesia on Nov. 20 and a season-high 14 points (6-of-10 field goal attempts) at SMU on Nov. 26. He posted 10 points with one rebound at Sam Houston on Dec. 12.

GALLION CONTINUES CONTRIBUTING ROLE    
ULM senior guard Savion Gallion has started 20 of the first 23 games of the 2023-24 season and ranks fourth on the team in scoring at 8.5 points per game. He reached double figures for the ninth time this season with 11 points last Saturday vs. Eastern Michigan. He picked up 10 points, all in the second half, vs. Coastal Carolina on Feb. 7. He had an efficient game at the Ragin' Cajuns on Jan. 31, scoring 14 points (6-of-9 field goal attempts) while adding three rebounds and three assists. He earned nine points (3-of-5 field goal attempts) with three assists at Old Dominion on Jan. 20. He collected 16 points, with 15 coming in the second half, on Jan. 18 at James Madison. He posted a career-high 18 points (6-of-10 field goal attempts) with three assists vs. Georgia Southern on Jan. 6. 

He has led ULM in scoring three times, doing so on Jan. 18 at JMU, posting 17 points (5-of-7 field-goal attempts) at Lamar on Dec. 14 and with eight points in the season opener at No. 7/6 Houston on Nov. 6. He reached double figures for the first time this season with 14 points (5-of-8 field-goal attempts) while adding five rebounds and four assists on Nov. 20 vs. Ecclesia. He had his second double figure game with 10 points and three rebounds at Sam Houston on Dec. 12. He scored in double figures for the third-straight game with 12 points at Jacksonville on Dec. 18. He added eight points with a career-high six rebounds on Nov. 26 at SMU.

BOLDEN STEPS UP AS SOPHOMORE    
Sophomore guard Jalen Bolden has emerged as a reliable option in the 2023-24 season. He is fifth on the team in scoring at 8.2 points per game and is second on the team at 5.8 rebounds per game. He has five double-doubles on the season, with three coming in Sun Belt Conference play after posting 10 points and 11 rebounds on Jan. 25 vs. South Alabama. It was the ninth time this year he scored in double figures. He tallied 11 points and 13 rebounds (seven offensive) on Jan. 20 at Old Dominion. He had his first double-double in SBC play and third of the season on Jan. 11 vs. Southern Miss with 13 points and 10 rebounds. In SBC action he is averaging 7.3 points and a team-best 6.4 rebounds per game.

He tallied 12 points, three rebounds and three steals on Jan. 18 at James Madison. He stuffed the stat sheet with seven points (7-of-12 free throw attempts), eight rebounds, four assists and two steals on Jan. 6 vs. Georgia Southern.

He reached double figures for the fourth-straight game with 11 points at Lamar on Dec. 14. He picked up his second double-double by leading the team in scoring with 14 points and rebounding with 12 boards on Dec. 12 at Sam Houston. He made his first career start on Dec. 5 against Champion Christian and posted his third double-figure scoring game of the season with 10 points (4-of-6 field-goal attempts, 2-of-2 3-point field-goal attempts) and three rebounds.

He had his first career double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds on Nov. 28 against Northwestern State. He scored 10 of his 12 points and pulled in nine of his 14 rebounds in the second half as ULM rallied from an 18-point first-half deficit for the 74-70 win. His 14 rebounds set a new career high.

He had his first double figure effort of the season with a career-high 15 points (6-of-7 field-goal attempts) against Ecclesia on Nov. 20. He has scored at least six points in each of the last six games while adding at least five rebounds three times.

WILLIS STARTS TO EMERGE IN THE POST    
ULM junior forward Makai Willis has been one of the top options off the bench for ULM. Willis is averaging 6.4 points and 4.1 rebounds per game on the season and 8.2 points and 4.7 rebounds per game in Sun Belt Conference play. He is nearly averaging a double-double per 40 minutes played at 14.6 points and 9.4 rebounds per 40 minutes.

Willis had a stretch of five-straight double-figure efforts from Jan. 13 to Jan. 28, and has scored in double figures seven times this season. He scored 10 of his 12 points and pulled in five of his eight rebounds after halftime as ULM rallied from a 17-point deficit to defeat Arkansas State in overtime on Jan. 28. He topped 20 points for the first time in his career with 21 points (9-of-13 field goal attempts) and nine rebounds on Jan. 25 vs. South Alabama. He picked up his second double-double of the season with 14 points (6-of-8 free throw attempts) and 12 rebounds on Jan. 20 at Old Dominion. He scored a career-high 15 points (5-of-10 field goal attempts) and added seven points last Thursday at James Madison. He totaled 11 points with seven rebounds vs. Texas State on Jan. 13.

He earned his first double-double with 13 points (5-of-8 field goal attempts) with 10 rebounds on Nov. 20 vs. Ecclesia. He also scored in double figures with 10 points vs. Champion Christian on Dec. 5.

RICHARD EARNS 300TH CAREER WIN, 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 121 Sun Belt Conference games as a head coach, with 89 at ULM and 32 over his first three seasons at LA Tech before the Bulldogs joined the Western Athletic Conference in 2001-02. With his win over Old Dominion on Jan. 20, Richard passed former Middle Tennesse coach Kermit Davis for the second-most SBC wins by a head coach.

He has been involved in 750 of the 2,036 games (37%) in ULM program history either as a player, graduate assistant, assistant coach or head coach.