Late Lead Slips Away As Men's Hoops Falls To Incarnate Word, 71-68

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NEW ORLEANS – Senior forward Kevin Hill came off the bench to tally 18 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots, but it was not enough as the University of New Orleans men's basketball team dropped a 71-68 decision to Southland Conference foe Incarnate Word on Monday evening in Lakefront Arena.
 
The Privateers trailed 67-61 with 3:19 to go before freshman guard Cameron Reed drained a 3-pointer and junior guard Tevin Broyles hit back-to-back buckets to give UNO a one-point edge just over two minutes later. The Cardinals, however, took the lead for good on a pair of free throws by Kyle Hittle with 52 seconds to play and Jontrell Walker added two more from the charity stripe during the next UIW possession to account for the final score.
 
The loss was the second tough pill to swallow in a row for the Privateers, who fall to 5-9 on the year and 1-2 in Southland action. Incarnate Word, meanwhile, evened its overall record to 7-7 and improved to 2-1 in league play.
 
Junior forward Erik Thomas was second to Hill in scoring for the Privateers with 10 and evened his rebounding total with eight boards. Broyles and sophomore forward Travin Thibodeaux each chipped in with nine points and junior guard Christavious Gill added eight. Junior point guard Nate Frye shared team-high assist honors with Hill at three apiece.
 
As a team, the Privateers shot 42.6 percent from the field (26-of-61) and 80.0 percent from the free throw line (12-of-15), while holding Incarnate Word to a .386 clip overall (22-of-57). UNO also held a commanding 42-33 rebounding advantage, turned 13 offensive boards into 17 second-chance points and outscored the Cardinals in the paint, 34-24. The difference in the game came at the opponent's free throw line where UIW took advantage of 21 Privateer personal fouls to sink 21-of-25 opportunities from the stripe – including the final four points of the ballgame.
 
The game against Incarnate Word was the first of three consecutive homes games as the Privateers will play host to Houston Baptist on Saturday, Jan. 16, and Stephen F. Austin on Monday, Jan. 18. Tickets to those contests and future Privateer sporting events can be purchased by clicking HERE or by calling the UNO Athletics Ticket Office at (504) 280-GAME (4263).

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