MONROE, La. – Almost every Warhawk recorded scores in ULM's (1-1) first win of the season, a commanding 44-point victory over Champion Christian (1-2). After dropping 57 in just the first half, the Warhawks were able to close it out from contributions of the entire roster. Head coach
Ryan Cross earns his first career victory at the helm.
While the opening score came from ULM in
Phillip Tillman, an opening handful of scores from the Tigers gave the visitors the 7-3 edge just two minutes into the contest. But a three-point shot from
Dayjaun Anderson set off a 25-3 scoring run for the home team to bounce back and gain a lead the Warhawks would never relinquish. Anderson led the team with 24 points, shooting nine-of-16 from the field and dropping four triples.
Robert Cowherd got involved as the team maintained the 20-point lead, the Southern Miss transfer logging 10 points, including two threes, to pair with a team-leading four steals. Cowherd represented 10 of the 42 bench points the Warhawks recorded. The Tigers landed eight triples themselves, shooting 24% from beyond the arc, but shooting 38% from the field. While the turnover margin was just six (CC's 15 to ULM's nine), the Warhawks snagged 25 points off turnovers and posted 52 rebounds.
Mike White led the Warhawks with eight boards and five assists on the evening, along with five points. Anderson continued to hit three-pointers as the Tigers fought to close the gap, as the first half concluded with a 57-25 score.
CC's Braylon Frazier opened the second half with a drained triple, as he logged 12 points on the night. But ULM picked up right where it left off, as
Lance Carr was factored into the mix with Anderson, Tillman and
Quaran McPherson. McPherson joined Anderson and Cowherd as the three Warhawks to record double-figure scoring games, shooting four-of-nine for 13 points and six rebounds.
Just as the lead extended to thirty points, the Tigers began to land multiple shots, sending ULM on a scoring drought. The defense came in full force as neither team could hit a shot throughout two minutes, before
Grant Chamberlain and his back-to-back threes extended the lead to 37. This set off a 19-2 scoring run to conclude the contest,
Khalil London and
Cooper Nelson notching scores as time ran down and ULM captured its first win of the season, 99-55.
The Warhawks will hit the road, facing Texas A&M and TCU on consecutive days. ULM will take on the Aggies on November 9 at 7 p.m., facing the Horned Frogs on November 10 at 8 p.m.
