From the Hardwood - WKU
Game basics
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ULM (4-17, 3-12 SBC) begins its final road trip of the regular season
with a visit to Western Kentucky (13-14, 7-9 SBC) on Thursday at 7 p.m.
inside E.A. Diddle Arena. The Warhawks are coming off an 87-54 loss to Arkansas
State on Saturday, following an 85-73 victory against North Texas on Thursday.
Western Kentucky has dropped three straight, including an 87-82 loss at FIU on
Saturday.
Thursday's contest can be heard locally on KLIP 105.3 FM in Monroe or online at
ulmwarhawks.com, with Nick White calling the action.
The game can also be seen on the Hilltopper Sports Network and ESPN3.com.
LAST GAME: ARKANSAS STATE RECAP
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Arkansas State used big runs in both halves to handle ULM 87-54 on Saturday
inside Fant-Ewing Coliseum. The Red Wolves shot 60 percent from the field and
outscored the Warhawks 36-12 from the 3-point line and 21-12 at the free-throw
line.
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ASU pushed out to an early 24-3 lead, making six of its first seven attempts
from 3-point range. The Warhawks responded with a 24-6 run to cut the lead to
30-27 with 3:58 remaining in the first half, but that is as close as they would
get. ASU scored the final five points of the half, capped by a 3-pointer from
Trey Finn in the final seconds, and the Red Wolves used a 19-1 run early in the
second half to put the game away.
•
ULM had four turnovers at halftime and committed 14 in the second half. The Red
Wolves took advantage, outscoring the Warhawks 34-10 off turnovers. The Warhawks
did shoot 45.2 percent from the field, but took a season-low 42 shot attempts.
•
Junior Amos Olatayo led the Warhawks in scoring for the 10th
time this season with 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting. It marked the eighth time
that Olatayo has scored 20 or more points in a game this season. Freshman Kyle
Koszuta was the only other ULM player to score in double figures as he
finished two points off his career-high with 13 points.
•
Junior Jayon James finished with eight points and 10 assists --
his second game this season with double-digit assists.
ULM TRENDS
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ULM ranks 11th in the Sun Belt in scoring offense with an average of 60.8 points
per game. The Warhawks ranks second in the conference in field-goal percentage
(.433), fourth in 3-point percentage (.354) and and 11th in free-throw
percentage (.578). ULM also ranks second in the conference in assists per game
(13.6), fifth in steals per game (7.3) and seventh in 3-point makes per game
(6.0).
•
ULM has had a balanced scoring attack this season with six players averaging at
least 6.2 points per game. Eight different ULM players have scored in
double-digits at least once this season and four different players have
registered at least 20 points in a game.
•
Junior Amos Olatayo leads the team and ranks third in the Sun Belt in
scoring with 16.1 points in just 31.1 minutes per game. Olatayo has scored in
double figures a team-leading 12 times and he has registered 20 or more points
eight times this season. Olatayo ranks 13th in the Sun Belt in field-goal
percentage (.476). The Alief, Texas, native is averaging 18.1 points and 5.9
rebounds while shooting 49.5 percent (90-of-182) from the field and 57.5 percent
(42-of-73) from the free-throw line over ULM's last 13 games.
•
Junior Jayon James averages 9.9 points and leads the Sun Belt and ranks
41st nationally with 5.4 assists per game this season. James (6-6) is tied with
Michael Carter-Williams as the tallest player in the country to average at least
5.0 assists per game. James also ranks 11th in the Sun Belt in rebounds per game
(6.2), sixth in assist-turnover ratio (1.1) and tied for ninth in steals per
game (1.4). He has recorded double-digit assists in two games this season,
including a career-high 15 at FIU on Feb. 2. With 118 assists on the season,
James needs 10 more assists to move into sole possession of 10th place on ULM's
single-season list.
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Sophomore Trent Mackey leads the Sun Belt and ranks 16th
nationally in 3-point percentage (.436). He also ranks third in the conference
and 47th nationally with an average of 2.64 3-point makes per game. Mackey
became just the 17th player in school history to reach 100 career 3-point makes
on Saturday against Arkansas State. He is just 10 3-point makes shy of passing
Anthony Jones for 10th place on ULM's single-season list and 22 makes away from
moving into the top 10 on the school's career list.
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Junior R.J. McCray has started 21 straight games at the point
guard position for ULM and is averaging 7.6 points and 2.6 assists per game this
season. McCray has scored in double-digits eight times this season after
notching double figures just three times in his first two seasons with the
Warhawks. McCray also has eight games with at least four assists this season.
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Junior Millaun Brown has started in 20 of ULM's 22 games this
season and is averaging 6.2 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. Brown has scored
in double-digits on four occasions this season, including a career-high 21
points last Thursday against North Texas. Brown leads the conference in
field-goal percentage (.640) in Sun Belt games only.
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The Warhawks do not have a regular starter back from last season and returned
just 28 percent of their scoring and 24 percent of their rebounding from a
season ago.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE TRACKER
• Jayon James
ranks sixth in the Sun Belt and 127th nationally with five double-doubles this
season. He is the only ULM player to record a double-double this season.
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James' five double-doubles have come against Southeastern Louisiana (10 pts and
12 rbs), Southern (11 pts and 11 rbs), Florida Atlantic (26 pts and 10 rbs),
North Texas (19 pts and 10 rbs) and FIU (11 pts and 15 assts).
JAMES MOVING UP SINGLE-SEASON ASSISTS LIST
Junior Jayon James continues to climb the ULM single-season assists list
as he is tied for14th place with 118 on the season. The Paterson, N.J., native
is just 10 assists away from passing Bob Carson for 10th in school history in
single-season assists with at least five games remaining this season. James is
on pace for 145 assists this season, which would put him alone in seventh place
on the list.
PLAYER SEASON G AVG ASSTS
5. Keith Johnson 1991-92 29 5.1 149
6. Larry Saulters 1968-69 21 7.0 147
7. Jamie Mayo 1977-78 27 5.0 135
8. Keith Johnson 1992-93 31 4.3 133
9. Jamie Mayo 1978-79 29 4.5 130
10. Bob Carson 1970-71 22 5.8 127
T14.Jayon James 2012-13 22 5.4 118
MACKEY CLIMBING SINGLE-SEASON AND CAREER 3-POINTERS LIST
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Sophomore Trent Mackey has already solidified himself as one of the top
3-point shooters in the conference this season, and now he is closing in on one
of the best seasons in school history. With 58 3-point makes this season, Mackey
is alone in 19th place on ULM's single-season list. He needs 10 more 3s this
season to pass Anthony Jones (1990-91) and move into the top 10.
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Mackey is also closing in on the school's top 10 list for career 3-pointers in
just two seasons. Mackey became the 17th player in school history to reach 100
career 3s on Saturday against Arkansas State. He is 22 3-point makes away from
tying Brian Lubeck (1999-02) for 10th place on ULM's career list.
PREVIEWING WESTERN KENTUCKY
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After winning its first four games in Sun Belt play this season, Western
Kentucky has slipped to a 3-9 record since, including three straight losses. The
Hilltoppers are coming off an 87-82 loss at FIU on Saturday. The Hilltoppers
rank eighth in the Sun Belt in scoring offense (66.3 ppg) and third in the
conference in scoring defense (66.1 ppg). WKU is shooting 42 percent from the
field, 30.1 percent from 3-point range and 66.4 percent from the free-throw
line.
leads the Hilltoppers and ranks eighth in the Sun Belt in scoring with 14.3
points per game. Price is shooting 39.1 percent from the field, 34.9 percent
from 3-point range and 67.7 percent from the free-throw line this season. Jamal
Crook averages 12.8 points and a team-high 4.2 assists per game and
George Fant chips in 12.5 points and a team-high 6.5 rebounds per
game.
• Ray Harper
is in his first full season as the head coach of the Hilltoppers after taking
over in the middle of last season and guiding WKU to the Sun Belt Tournament
championship and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Western Kentucky has gone
15-10 since Harper took over as head coach. Harper also has head-coaching stops
at NAIA Oklahoma City (2006-08) and NCAA Division II Kentucky Wesleyan
(1997-2005), where he combined to win four national championships.
ULM-WESTERN KENTUCKY SERIES
ULM is 1-8 all-time against Western Kentucky and 0-3 against the Hilltoppers in
Bowling Green. The Hilltoppers have won four straight in the series, including a
65-54 victory in Monroe earlier this season. ULM's last trip to Bowling Green
ended in an 81-61 loss to WKU back on Feb. 5, 2011.
LAST MEETING AGAINST WESTERN KENTUCKY (NOV. 29, 2012)
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ULM shot 33.3 percent in the second half and scored three points in the final
five minutes as Western Kentucky pulled away for a 65-54 victory in the
conference opener for both schools. The Hilltoppers shot 50 percent in the
second half and finished the game shooting 46 percent.
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Leading 55-51 with five minutes remaining, Western Kentucky outscored ULM 10-3
down the stretch to pull away. The Warhawks' largest lead of the second half was
39-35 on a dunk from Amos Olatayo with 15:18 remaining.
•
Olatayo led the Warhawks with 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field.
Olatayo also made a career-best three 3-pointers. Millaun Brown
contributed 11 points, six rebounds and a block in 34 minutes of action.
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Western Kentucky's T.J. Price was the only Hilltopper to score in double
figures as he totaled 30 points to go along with six rebounds, three assists and
three steals. Price finished 10 of 19 from the field, including 5 of 11 from
3-point range.
•
The Warhawks finished with 13 assists, paced by Jayon James with six and
R.J. McCray with four.
UP NEXT
ULM wraps up its road schedule at Middle Tennessee on Saturday at 5:30
p.m. inside Murphy Center.