Keith Richard issued a challenge to his team at halftime.

The first half had gone about as bad as it could have for ULM. A barrage of turnovers and missed opportunities at the rim placed the Warhawks (3-10) in a 34-19 whole at the intermission against first-place Middle Tennessee.

Richard didn’t panic. He knew his gameplan was sound and encouraged his team to keep competing.

“The only thing we really talked about at halftime was don’t hang your head because you’re down,” Richard said. “They [MT] are a team that will destroy you if you don’t come out and fight.”

The coach was right. Those shots at the rim started falling. And with guard Amos Olatayo springboarding a 12-2 ULM run, the Warhawks pulled within two of MTSU at the eleven minute-mark in the second half.

The Blue Raiders (14-4, 6-1) ended up pulling away 66-57. But ULM made it interesting for a while. MT’s length made the difference on the defensive end, allowing them to come away with seven blocks, eight steals and a 40-22 rebounding advantage.

“I’m disappointed we lost, but I’m also satisfied that our team competed like I asked them to,” Richard said. “I want them playing hard even if I’ve got to fight them, which I did sometimes to keep them motoring and learning how to compete against the best team in our league.”

Olatayo was ULM’s leading scorer with 24 points on 9-of-15 shooting. The junior rounded out his stat line with four rebounds and two blocks, while also making plays on the fast break.

“Amos was really running out there and showing his athleticism. He really showed that he could play for either team tonight,” Richard said.

Junior Jayon James added 10 points and five assists for ULM, and junior R.J. McCray posted 10 points and two steals.

ULM also held the Blue Raiders two points below their season scoring average.

Marcos Knight led MTSU with 17 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Senior Bruce Massey also scored in double figures with 12 points.