MONROE, La. – The ULM men's basketball team (0-1) continues the season-opening homestand on Wednesday (Nov. 4) with a 6:30 p.m. tipoff against Champion Christian (1-1). The Warhawks hunt for a victory after falling to Central Michigan in a tight matchup for the MAC-SBC Challenge.

SCOUTING THE TIGERS –

Champion Christian posts a 1-1 record so far this season, defeating Philander Smith in a 97-67 victory to open the season. On the road, the Tigers fell to Texas A&M Texarkana. Braylon Frazier leads the team with 38 points this season, hitting eight of 18 triples in just two games. Last season, CCC saw a winning record of 15-10, with a 3-4 conference record. The team reached the NCCAA National Tournament, falling to Faith Baptist Bible in the fifth place game. 

SERIES HISTORY VS. CHAMPION CHRISTIAN –

The Warhawks and Tigers have competed five previous times, all occurring at ULM. Not only do the Warhawks hold the 5-0 edge dating back to 2014, but they have crossed triple digits in all five meetings. The last time the teams met was 2024, a 111-61 victory for ULM to continue the five-game streak.

LAST TIME OUT –
The ULM men's basketball team fell in a five-point contest to Central Michigan, in the November iteration of the MAC-SBC Challenge. Three Warhawks scored in double digits in the season opener, with one finding double-digit rebounds. The contest opened with a three-pointer from Dayjaun Anderson, triples becoming the name of the game. After getting to a 5-0 start early, the Warhawks held the Chippewas to a three-minute scoring drought. While three-point shooting put the Warhawks ahead early (45% in the first half), the Chippewas continued to battle back after each scoring run.
At the nine-minute mark in the first half, Central Michigan found the lead for the first time in the contest, going on a 13-3 scoring run. After the game remained tied up at 30, Anderson capped off a nine-point run with another triple to end the half with ULM ahead, 43-32. Anderson opened the second half the way he started, with a triple to extend the lead to 14 for the Warhawks. But just a few minutes into the half, the Chippewas got comfortable shooting from beyond the arc, adding nine unanswered points to the tally as the deficit closed to five. 
While Quaran McPherson continued to break away for points, another run had the Chippewas within one. McPherson landed a triple to remain ahead. With five minutes remaining, another three-pointer allowed for CMU to tie it up. A dunk settled the winning team with 42 seconds remaining, the Chippewas ahead by three. Free throws added to the tally as ULM fell in the 83-78 score.

GUESS WHO'S BACK...BACK AGAIN –

The Ryan Cross era begins at tipoff against the Chippewa, as he was named head coach of the Warhawks on March 25, 2026. He is the ninth coach in program history, making the return to Monroe after eight seasons at ULM from 2012 to 2020. The three winningest seasons since ULM joined the Sun Belt all came while Cross was on staff, the 24 wins in 2014-15 marked as the third-most in program history. ULM made its first Sun Belt Tournament championship game appearance in 2016 and first-ever appearance in the tournament semifinals in 2015. Cross comes to ULM after a 20-12 season with UAB, the Blazers competing in the postseason in four of Cross' six seasons on staff. 

WARHAWK TIES –

Lance Carr arrives in Monroe with familiarity with the Warhawks. Carr's parents, Cassandra Barker and Larry Carr, both had stellar seasons playing ULM basketball. Barker was a part of the then-NLU women's basketball program from 1989 to 1993. She currently holds multiple slots in the season and all-time program records. Barker totaled 184 blocks in her career to place second all-time. In the 1992-93 season, Barker collected 79 blocks to claim the season blocks record. Carr spent two seasons at Northeast (1993-95), dropping 175 three-pointers to sit at seventh all-time in the record books. Carr's .419 three-point percentage ranks fourth, recognized in the ULM Hall of Fame in 2013.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK –

The most popular state on the Warhawk roster is New York, as three ULM players hail from the Empire State. Quaran McPherson and Ziyade Ndancky are both from Bronx, N.Y. and Khalil London is from Wyandanch, N.Y.

HOMETOWN HERO –

Cooper Nelson is the lone first-year player and the lone Louisiana resident, hailing from Monroe. Nelson comes to ULM from Sterlington High School, where he finished his high school career as the all-time leading scorer with 2,972 points.

NEXT ON THE SLATE –

The Warhawks will hit the road for Texas, facing Texas A&M on November 9 at 7 p.m. and TCU on November 10 at 8 p.m.