ULM Warhawks

Troy (18-10 overall, 11-4 Sun Belt Conference) at ULM (11-15 overall, 6-9 Sun Belt Conference)
2:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024 | Fant-Ewing Coliseum | Monroe, Louisiana
WATCH: ESPN+ | LISTEN: 105.3 FM KLIP | LIVE STATS | TICKETS
GAME NOTES

MONROE, La. - The ULM Warhawks wrap up the 2023-24 home schedule at 2:30 p.m. Saturday against Troy. The Warhawks will honor seniors Johnnie Williams IV, Savion Gallion, Nika Metskhvarishvili and Tyreke Locure prior to tip-off.

• ULM (11-15 overall, 6-9 Sun Belt Conference) split the season series with the in-state rival Ragin' Cajuns after a 66-59 win on Thursday night at Fant-Ewing Coliseum. ULM led by as much as 12 points in the second half. Nika Metskhvarishvili led ULM with 17 points while adding eight rebounds. Jerry Ngopot had a career-high 15 points, with 13 coming in the first half. Tyreese Watson added 13 points, hitting 7-of-9 free throw attempts on the night. Jalen Bolden chipped in seven points but tracked down 13 rebounds.

• 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 (11 games), ULM is third in the SBC in field goal percentage (.456), fourth in 3-point field goal percentage (.369) and seventh in scoring offense (74.5 points per game). Overall on the season, ULM is 10th in the SBC in field goal percentage (.426), 14th in 3-point field goal percentage (.299) and 13th in scoring offense (70.1 ppg.). The Warhawks have scored at least 70 points in eight of their last 11 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 four times over the last eight contests. Over the last eight games, he is averaging 17.4 points per game while shooting 52% (54-of-104) from the field and 36% (12-of-33) from the 3-point line.

• ULM enters Saturday's game in a three-way tie for ninth place in the Sun Belt Conference standings at 6-9 in SBC action. The Warhawks are tied with South Alabama and Georgia Southern. The top 10 finishers in the conference standings earn a first-round bye in the upcoming Sun Belt Conference Championship in Pensacola, Florida.

SATURDAY'S GAME BASICS    
ULM and Troy meet for the second time in a week at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Fant-Ewing Coliseum. Troy won last week's meeting, 85-57, on Senior Day for the Trojans at Trojan Arena. Saturday's game is ULM's Senior Day contest.

ULM has won seven of the last 10 games overall after Thursday's 66-59 win over the Ragin' Cajuns. The Warhawks are looking to win their final six games inside Fant-Ewing Coliseum in 2023-24 in Saturday's contest. The Warhawks are 8-5 at home this season with wins against the Cajuns, Eastern Michigan (82-76), Coastal Carolina (79-75), Arkansas State (85-82, OT), South Alabama (80-66), Champion Christian (110-63), Northwestern State (74-70) and Ecclesia (103-74) and with losses to Louisiana Tech (73-63), Marshall (68-57), Georgia Southern (76-68), Southern Miss (71-58) and Texas State (67-54). ULM's other three victories this season came at Central Michigan (74-64) in the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge, at Old Dominion (80-73) and at Southern Miss (68-59).

Troy has won seven of its last nine games, but lost two of its last three games with both losses coming to Arkansas State. The Trojans lost to the Red Wolves, 79-71, on Thursday night in Jonesboro after falling to A-State, 82-71, on Feb. 15 in Troy. The Trojans boast a 15-2 record at home, but are 3-8 on the road this season with wins over Coastal Carolina (72-65), Georgia Southern (84-63) and Georgia State (78-74). The Trojans have lost at Ohio (88-70), Oregon State (81-80 in 2 OT), Eastern Kentucky (77-76), Dayton (82-70), Ole Miss (74-53), South Alabama (74-71), Southern Miss (64-63) and Arkansas State.

Saturday's game is the 27th meeting between ULM and Troy, with Troy leading the series, 15-11. The Trojans have won each of the last four meetings. Troy swept the regular season series last year, winning 77-53 in Trojan Arena on Jan. 21, 2023, and 82-78 in overtime at Fant-Ewing Coliseum on Feb. 22, 2023. The Trojans won the only meeting between the two in 2021-22, picking up a 73-65 win on Jan. 20, 2022, in Monroe.

ULM head coach Keith Richard is 9-11 all-time against Troy, with all meetings coming while the head coach of the Warhawks. Troy head coach Scott Cross is 11-7 all-time vs. ULM, including a 4-2 record while head coach at Troy. He was 7-5 against the Warhawks while he was the head coach at UT Arlington. Richard was the head coach for all of the meetings between Cross and ULM.

Saturday's game will stream on ESPN+ with Chris Harris (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 TROY    
Troy leads the Sun Belt Conference in several stat categories. The Trojans lead the league and are ranked 10th in NCAA Division I in offensive rebounds per game (13.86 pg.), ranked 10th nationally in steals per game (9.9 pg.), ranked 14th nationally in bench points per game (29.46 pg.), ranked 20th nationally in fastbreak points per game (14.75 pg.), ranked 42nd nationally in free throws made per game (16.1 pg.) and ranked 49th nationally in free throws attempted per game (22.2 pg.).

Christyon Eugene leads the Trojans at 15.1 points and 3.3 assists per game while adding 4.4 rebounds per game. He has scored in double figures 23 times and topped 20 points seven times, including a season-high 28 points (5-of-8 3-point field goal attempts) at Georgia Southern on Feb. 1. He picked up 22 points with seven rebounds at the Ragin' Cajuns on Jan. 10, 21 points (7-of-11 field goal attempts and 5-of-9 3-point field goal attempts) last Saturday vs. ULM and tallied 20 points with a season-high nine rebounds at Coastal Carolina on Dec. 30. He had 10 points with three rebounds at Arkansas State on Thursday.

Myles Rigsby also is tied for second on the team in scoring at 11.4 points per game while adding 4.3 rebounds per game, but his numbers improve to 13.5 points and 5.2 rebounds per game inside Sun Belt Conference play, where he is shooting 49% from the field (58-of-118) and 52% (15-of-29) from 3-point range. Rigsby has scored in double figures 15 times, with 11 of those performances coming in SBC action. He has scored in double figures in nine-straight games entering Saturday's contest. He has topped 20 points five times, including four times in the last nine games. He scored a season-high 22 points (7-of-11 field goal attempts) on Feb. 10 vs. Kent State. He also scored 21 points vs. South Alabama on Jan. 27 and 20 points at Georgia State on Feb. 3, vs. Texas State on Jan. 24 and at Coastal Carolina (4-of-5 3-point field goal attempts) on Dec. 30. He picked up 10 points (4-of-5 field goal attempts) with six rebounds last Saturday vs. ULM.

Aamer Muhammad is the fourth Trojan averaging double figures at 11.3 points per game while adding 3.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. His averages increase to 12.2 points and 3.2 rebounds per game in SBC play. He has 15 double figure games, including seven of the last eight games entering Saturday's contest. His lone game in single figures in the stretch was his seven points vs. ULM last Saturday. He has scored at least 20 points three times, including 22 points (4-of-8 3-point field goal attempts) on Feb. 15 vs. Arkansas State. He tallied a season-high 23 points and eight rebounds on Jan. 27 vs. South Alabama. He had 21 points (4-of-5 3-pointers) vs. SIUE on Dec. 1. He had 14 points on Thursday night at Arkansas State.

Tayton Conerway is tied for second on the team in scoring at 11.4 points per game while adding 2.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. He is shooting 49% from the floor and has come off the bench in 26 of 28 games. He has reached double-figure scoring 18 times, including a season-high 16 points on Thursday at Arkansas State. He has scored in double figures in five of the last seven games. He had nine points and four assists vs. ULM last Saturday.

WARHAWK OFFENSIVE RENAISSANCE    
Over the last 11 games, ULM has found its footing on the offensive end of the floor. The Warhawks have scored at least 70 points in eight of the last 11 games after hitting the mark just five times over the first 15 games of the season. The Warhawks were limited to 68 points in a win on Feb. 15 at Southern Miss, held to 57 points in last Saturday's game at Troy and picked up 66 points in Thursday's win over the Ragin' Cajuns. Since Jan. 17, ULM ranks third in the SBC in field goal percentage (.459) and 3-point field goal percentage (.378) and seventh in scoring offense (75.3 points per game). Individually in that span, Nika Metskhvarishvili is sixth in the SBC at 16.0 points per game and fifth in field goal percentage at .505 (56-of-111).

ULM has shot over 43% from the field in seven games in that span, including over 46% six times and 50% three times. Here's a comparison of how ULM has grown offensively over the last 11 games, since Jan. 17:
 

	First 15 Games (SBC Rank)	Last 11 Games (SBC Rank)	Overall (SBC Rank)
Field Goal %	.405 (14)	.456 (3)	.426 (10)
3-Point Field Goal %	.261 (14)	.369 (4)	.299 (14)
Scoring Offense	66.9 (13)	74.5 (7)	70.1 (13)

METSKHVARISHVILI CONTINUES STRONG STRETCH RUN    
Senior forward Nika Metskhvarishvili has scored in double figures in seven of the last eight games after leading ULM with 17 points while adding eight rebounds, two blocks and one assist on Thursday vs. the Ragin' Cajuns. His only game in single figures in the stretch was a six-point effort in 16 minutes at Troy last Saturday. He has led ULM in scoring 11 times and leads the team in scoring at 12.3 points per game while shooting 44% (110-of-252) from the field. He is tied for the team lead in rebounding at 6.0 boards per game. He leads the team with 14 blocks. He is second on the team with 49 assists. Inside SBC play, he leads the team with 12.8 points per game and is second with 6.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. Over the last eight games, he is averaging 17.4 points per game while shooting 52% (54-of-104) from the field and 36% (12-of-33) from the 3-point line.

Metskhvarishvili scored 20-or-more points in four out of five games from Jan. 28 to Feb. 10. 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 narrowly missed his fifth-straight double-figure game last Saturday at Troy, finishing with nine points and five assists against the Trojans. He poured in 20 points on the strength of a season-high five 3-pointers to go with five rebounds, five assists and five steals last Thursday at Southern Miss. It was his fourth 20-point game of the season and 11th double-figure effort. He has nine 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 10.8 points per game while adding 4.0 rebounds and a team-high 3.1 assists per game. He is third inthe Sun Belt Conference in steals at 1.8 steals per game and ranks eighth in the SBC in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.53) and is 10th in assists per game. He has registered at least five assists in each of the last four games entering Saturday's contest vs. Troy.

He came up with his best game of the season to help lead ULM past Eastern Michigan on Feb. 10 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. 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 posted 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 12 times this season after scoring 13 points (7-of-9 free-throw attempts) on Thursday against the Ragin' Cajuns. He is averaging 9.1 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 10.0 points per game.

He reached double figures in seven out of eight games from Jan. 11 to Feb. 3. He chipped in 19 points (6-of-10 field-goal attempts) on Feb. 3 at Arkansas State. 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 22 of the first 26 games of the 2023-24 season and ranks fourth on the team in scoring at 8.4 points per game. He reached double figures for the 10th time this season with 11 points and two assists at Southern Miss on Feb. 15. He had 11 points on Feb. 10 vs. Eastern Michigan to go with four assists. He picked up 10 points, all in the second half, vs. Coastal Carolina on Feb. 7. He is shooting 58% (14-of-24) from the field and 62% (8-of-14) from the 3-point line over the last five games.

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 8.0 points per game and is tied for the team lead at 6.0 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. He had his fourth double-figure rebounding effort of SBC play and sixth of the season on Thursday night, grabbing 13 rebounds to go with seven points vs. the Ragin' Cajuns. In SBC action he is averaging 7.1 points and a team-high 6.5 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 6.3 points and 4.0 rebounds per game on the season and 7.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game in Sun Belt Conference play. He is nearly averaging a double-double per 40 minutes played at 14.7 points and 9.2 rebounds per 40 minutes. He had his first double figure scoring effort since Jan. 28 last Saturday at Troy, going for 10 points and four rebounds.

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 122 Sun Belt Conference games as a head coach, with 90 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 752 of the 2,040 games (37%) in ULM program history either as a player, graduate assistant, assistant coach or head coach.