ULM Warhawks

Game 28: ULM (11-16 overall, 6-10 Sun Belt Conference) at Texas State (12-17 overall, 5-11 Sun Belt Conference)
7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024 | Strahan Arena | San Marcos, Texas
WATCH: ESPN+ | LISTEN: 105.3 FM KLIP | LIVE STATS
GAME NOTES

MONROE, La. - The ULM Warhawks fight for seeding in next week's Sun Belt Conference Championship in a matchup with Texas State at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Strahan Arena in San Marcos.

• ULM (11-16 overall, 6-10 Sun Belt Conference) trailed by as much as 19 early in the second half vs. Troy before rallying within five points, but the Trojans held on and hit free throws down the stretch for the 84-78 win. The Warhawks were led in scoring by their three seniors on Senior Day, as Tyreke Locure totaled 20 points and a career-high matching six steals, Savion Gallion set a new career high with 19 points and Nika Metskhvarishvili had 18 points and seven 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. 18 (11 games), ULM is third in the SBC in field goal percentage (.458), sixth in 3-point field goal percentage (.369) and seventh in scoring offense (74.8 points per game). Overall on the season, ULM is 10th in the SBC in field goal percentage (.428), 14th in 3-point field goal percentage (.302) and 13th in scoring offense (70.4 ppg.). The Warhawks have scored at least 70 points in nine of their last 12 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 nine contests. Over the last nine games, he is averaging 17.4 points per game while shooting 52% (61-of-117) from the field and 34% (13-of-38) from the 3-point line.

• ULM enters Tuesday's game in a three-way tie for ninth place in the Sun Belt Conference standings at 6-10 in SBC action. The Warhawks are tied with South Alabama and Georgia Southern. Texas State and Coastal Carolina are just one game behind at 5-11. The top 10 finishers in the conference standings earn a first-round bye in the upcoming Sun Belt Conference Championship in Pensacola, Florida.

TUESDAY'S GAME BASICS    
ULM and Texas State meet in a pivotal Sun Belt Conference matchup at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Strahan Arena in San Marcos. The Warhawks are looking for a split with five of their six opponents in the western half of the SBC, while Texas State can tie ULM in the SBC standings with a win and have the tiebreaker on the Warhawks.

ULM has seven of its last 11 games overall, but is coming off an 84-78 loss to Troy on Saturday to drop to 11-16 overall and 6-10 inside the Sun Belt Conference. The Warhawks have a 3-10 road record this season, earning wins at Central Michigan (74-64), Old Dominion (80-73) and Southern Miss (68-59). ULM has lost at Houston (84-31), 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), Arkansas State (95-80) and Troy (85-57). The Warhawks have won eight games at home, knocking off Ecclesia, Northwestern State, Champion Christian, South Alabama, Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina, Eastern Michigan and Ragin' Cajuns.

Texas State snapped a three-game losing streak with a 68-59 win at Georgia State on Saturday to conclude the four-game road swing with a 1-3 record. The Bobcats are 12-17 overall and 5-11 in Sun Belt Conference play. Texas State is 7-4 at home this season, including a 3-4 record at home in conference play. The Bobcats have won their last four home games, defeating Ball State (68-60), App State (63-56), Southern Miss (60-55) and South Alabama (74-66). Texas State also boasts home wins against UTSA (72-62), Jarvis Christian (107-58) and LeTourneau (110-68). The Bobcats have lost at home against Coastal Carolina (71-63), Marshall (79-75), Ragin' Cajuns (86-68) and Arkansas State (79-72).

Tuesday's game is the 66th meeting in series history, with ULM claiming a 33-32 advantage. Texas State won the first meeting this season, 67-54, on Jan. 13. ULM swept the season series last year. The Warhawks won in San Marcos, 57-53, on Dec. 29, 2022, and followed it up two weeks later with a 61-58 victory in Monroe on Jan. 14, 2023. The two teams have been together in the SBC since Texas State joined the conference prior to the 2013-14 season. The two clubs faced off as members of the Southland Conference from 1987-2006.

ULM head coach Keith Richard is 8-13 all-time against Texas State, with all 21 meetings coming at ULM. Bobcat head coach Terrence Johnson is 5-2 against the Warhawks.

Tuesday's game will stream on ESPN+ with Brant Freeman (play-by-play) and Suzanne Fox (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 TEXAS STATE    
Texas State is led by its defensive intensity. The Bobcats enter Tuesday's game ranked fourth in the Sun Belt Conference in scoring defense at 70.2 points allowed per game. Texas State is fifth in the SBC in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.319) and fifth in turnovers forced per game (12.48 pg.).

Jordan Mason leads the Bobcats in scoring at 12.6 points per game. He also leads the team with 1.4 steals per game and is second on the team 2.9 assists per game. Mason did not join the Texas State lineup until Nov. 25 at UT Arlington. He has scored in double figures 16 times, including seven of his last eight games. He has reached 20 points three times, scoring a season-high 21 points twice, doing so at UT Arlington on Nov. 25 and vs. Arkansas State on Jan. 20, while adding 20 points vs. Jarvis Christian on Dec. 11. He had 15 points on Saturday at Georgia State. He totaled 16 points with three assists at ULM on Jan. 13.

Brandon Love has started all 28 games in which he has appeared and is second on the team in scoring at 10.5 points per game and rebounding at 5.6 boards per game. He leads the team with 44 blocks on the season. He has reached double figure scoring in 17 games, and topped 20 points twice, with a season-high 23 points on Jan. 6 vs. Marshall (11-of-13 field goal attempts) and 21 points vs. LeTourneau (10-of-13 field goals) on Dec. 18. He has four double-doubles, with 15 points and 14 rebounds vs. Southern Miss on Feb. 3, 15 points and 10 rebounds at UTA on Nov. 25, 18 points and 14 rebounds vs. UTSA on Nov. 17 and 13 points and 10 rebounds at Little Rock on Nov. 6. He had 10 points and seven rebounds at Georgia State on Saturday. He had eight points and seven rebounds vs. ULM on Jan. 13.

Davion Sykes is third on the team in scoring at 10.3 points per game while leading the team with 6.8 rebounds per game. He did not play until Jan. 4, but has played in all 16 games since then, starting each of the last eight games. He has scored in double figures seven times and posted 10 or more rebounds four times, picking up four double-doubles, all in the month of February. He set season highs with 18 points and 11 rebounds vs. South Alabama (Feb. 1) and is coming off a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds at Georgia State on Saturday. In the month of February, he is averaging 12.5 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. He scored 16 points with five rebounds at ULM on Jan. 13.

Kaden Gumbs is the fourth on the Bobcats at 9.1 points per game and leads the team at 3.5 assists per game while adding 4.4 rebounds per game. He has not played in each of the last three games. He has scored in double figures in nine games, but has not reached 10-plus points since Jan. 20 vs. Arkansas State. He had a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double vs. Southern Utah on Nov. 22. He scored a season-high 17 points vs. the Ragin' Cajuns on Jan. 17. He has had at least three assists in 17 games. He posted 10 poitns with three rebounds and two assists at ULM on Jan. 13.

Dylan Dawson and Coleton Benson are also averaging more than eight points per game. Dawson is averaging 8.6 points per game while Benson is adding 8.1 points per game. Dawson has scored in double figures 11 times, with five coming in Sun Belt Conference play. Benson has scored in double figures seven times, including 17 points in two of the last three games, doing so on Saturday at Georgia State (4-of-8 3-point field goal attempts) and at Southern Miss (3-of-6 3-pointers) on Feb. 17.

WARHAWK OFFENSIVE RENAISSANCE    
Over the last 12 games, ULM has found its footing on the offensive end of the floor. The Warhawks have scored at least 70 points in nine of the last 12 games after hitting the mark just five times over the first 15 games of the season. Since Jan. 17, ULM ranks third in the SBC in field goal percentage (.458), sixth in 3-point field goal percentage (.369) and seventh in scoring offense (74.8 points per game). Individually in that span, Nika Metskhvarishvili is seventh in the SBC at 16.2 points per game and fifth in field goal percentage at .508 (63-of-124).

ULM has shot over 43% from the field in eight games in that span, including over 46% seven times and 50% three times. Here's a comparison of how ULM has grown offensively over the last 12 games, since Jan. 17:
 

	First 15 Games (SBC Rank)	Last 12 Games (SBC Rank)	Overall (SBC Rank)
Field Goal %	.405 (14)	.458 (3)	.428 (10)
3-Point Field Goal %	.261 (14)	.369 (6)	.302 (14)
Scoring Offense	66.9 (13)	74.8 (7)	70.4 (13)

METSKHVARISHVILI CONTINUES STRONG STRETCH RUN    
Senior forward Nika Metskhvarishvili has scored in double figures in eight of the last nine games after posting 18 points (7-of-13 field goal attempts) with seven rebounds and three assists on Senior Day Saturday vs. Troy. He led ULM with 17 points while adding eight rebounds, two blocks and one assist last Thursday vs. the Ragin' Cajuns. His only game in single figures in the stretch was a six-point effort in 16 minutes at Troy on Feb. 17. He has led ULM in scoring 11 times and leads the team in scoring at 12.5 points per game while shooting 44% (117-of-265) from the field. He leads the team in rebounding at 6.0 boards per game and also leads the team with 14 blocks. He is second on the team with 52 assists. Inside SBC play, he leads the team with 13.2 points per game and is tied for the team lead at 6.4 rebounds per game. He is second on the club at 1.8 assists per game. Over the last nine games, he is averaging 17.4 points per game while shooting 52% (61-of-117) from the field and 34% (13-of-38) 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 led the Warhawks on Senior Day on Saturday vs. Troy, picking up his fifth 20-point game of the season, scoring 20 points while matching his career high with six steals. He added three rebounds and three assists. All five of his 20-plus point games have come inside Sun Belt Conference play. He has 10 20-point games in his ULM career after topping 20 points five times last season. He has scored in double figures 12 times this 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 11.1 points per game while adding 4.0 rebounds and a team-high 3.1 assists per game. He leads the Sun Belt Conference in steals at 1.9 steals per game and ranks eighth in the SBC in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.47) and is 11th in assists per game. He has registered at least five assists in each four of the last five games.

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 on Feb. 15 at Southern Miss. Locure 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 9.0 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 9.7 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 23 of the first 27 games of the 2023-24 season and ranks fourth on the team in scoring at 8.8 points per game. He scored a career-high 19 points (7-of-10 field goal attempts) on Senior Day on Saturday vs. Troy for his 11th double-figure effort of the season. He scored 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 7.7 points per game and is second on the team at 5.9 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 6.7 points and a team-high 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 6.3 points and 3.9 rebounds per game on the season and 7.5 points and 4.2 rebounds per game in Sun Belt Conference play. He is nearly averaging a double-double per 40 minutes played at 14.8 points and 9.3 rebounds per 40 minutes. He had his first double figure scoring effort since Jan. 28 on Feb. 17 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 2,041 games (37%) in ULM program history either as a player, graduate assistant, assistant coach or head coach.