Men's Basketball Heads West to Face ULM

Saturday, December 18

Monroe, LA

2:00 PM

Southern Miss

ULM

Men's Basketball Heads West to Face ULM

12/17/2021 11:53:00 AM | Men's Basketball

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HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- After a short homestand, the Southern Miss (4-6, 0-0 CUSA) men's basketball team returns to the road as it travels to ULM (6-4, 0-0 Sun Belt) on Saturday, Dec. 18. The Golden Eagles and Warhawks will tip at 2 p.m. in Monroe, La. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.

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The Need to Know
With the ULM-Southern Miss rivalry being renewed last season and the announcement of Southern Miss joining the Sun Belt, the Golden Eagles and Warhawks' meeting on Saturday has a lot on the line. The Golden Eagles are amid a four-game losing streak and are looking for their first win against a future conference foe after falling to Louisiana and South Alabama. On the flip side, ULM has won its last four by an average of 21 points. The Golden Eagles lead the all-time series, 23-15, but are 5-10 in games played on Monroe.

The Golden Eagles are coming off an 11-point loss to Jacksonville on Tuesday night but had the advantage in nearly every category. The Golden Eagles shot 40 percent from the field, nearly three percent better than the Dolphins, and had a better three-point shooting percentage. The Black and Gold outrebounded Jacksonville and had more blocked shots despite the point differential. Jaron Pierre, Jr. led the way as he tied his career-high in three-pointers made with six. Pierre and Isaih Moore combined to make seven three-pointers, while Moore finished with at least 10 points for the ninth time this season.

The Southern Miss bench had a three-point advantage on the Jacksonville bench and were led by Moore's 10 bench points. Freshman Rashad Bolden and junior Tyler Morman added four points each. Tyler Stevenson went for 10 points and eight rebounds to go along with three blocked shots. Moore added three blocked shots as well. Southern Miss' seven blocked shots were a season high and the most since blocking seven against Tougaloo on Dec. 21, 2019. Bolden dished out a team-high four assists.

Scouting the Warhawks
ULM comes into Saturday's contest riding a four-game winning streak with wins over Centenary, Northwestern State, Louisiana Christian and Stephen F. Austin. In their most recent outing, the Warhawks benefited from Nika Metskhvarishvili's team-high 21 points off the bench. Three other Warhawks scored in double figures and four others found themselves in the scoring column. Andre Jones, a 6-foot-5 guard, leads the team at 12.9 points per game, with Koreem Ozier close behind at 12.8 points a game.

Russell Harrison and Trey Boston are both averaging at least 10.0 points per game, while both have combined for 28 three-pointers through 10 games. Freshman Thomas Howell leads the pack on the glass, hauling 5.1 rebounds per game. ULM, as a team, is averaging 13 turnovers per game and its opponents average 16.5 turnovers. ULM's four losses have come from the likes of Auburn, LA Tech, LSU, and SMU. Its strength of schedule in No. 14 in the country. The Warhawks have the No. 27 scoring offense in the country at 81. 4 points per game and rank 22nd in assists per game with 17.4.

Golden Eagle Notes
- Southern Miss head coach Jay Ladner (1988) and ULM head coach Keith Richard (1982) are both graduates of their respective schools.
- Southern Miss leads the all-time series, 23-15, and are 5-10 in games played at ULM.
- Southern Miss' 41.6 field goal percentage ranks fourth in CUSA.
- Walyn Napper's 2.10 assist/turnover ratio is fourth in CUSA and 40th nationally.
- Averaging 1.22 years of experience, the Golden Eagles are one of the youngest teams in college basketball and the second-youngest CUSA team behind LA Tech.
- Tyler Stevenson is sitting at 904 career points to put him at No. 48 on the Southern Miss all-time scoring list. He is one point from passing Charlie Payne (1963-65).
- Isaih Moore has scored in double figures in 9-of-10 games this season.
- The Golden Eagles are searching for their first win against future Sun Belt foes. They have lost to Louisiana and South Alabama this season.