Box Score SAN MARCOS, Texas -- The University of New Orleans basketball team had its best offensive night of the young season on Monday and picked up its fourth win in five outings following an 85-81 win at Texas State.
T.J. Worley, coming off the bench for the first time this season, and
Kyndall Dykes each had 19 points, and
Darrian McKinstry added 18 points on five 3-pointers as UNO (4-5) won its second straight road contest.
The Privateers shot 61 percent in the second half -- 50.9 percent overall -- to help UNO eclipse the 80-point plateau for the first time this season.
Worley, 1-for-2 with three points in the first half, had 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting in the final stanza.
"T.J. was terrific tonight," said UNO head coach
Joe Pasternack. "He was coming off screens well. Everything he shot looked like it was going in."
Ty Gough led Texas State (3-6) with 16 points on 8-of-10 shooting, while John Rybak and Brandon Bush had 15 points apiece. UNO, thanks largely to another stellar defensive effort from Dykes, held Brent Benson -- the Bobcats' leading scorer -- to seven points and five turnovers.
"I talk about it almost every game, but
Kyndall Dykes was once again just tremendous defensively," Pasternack said. "I really feel like this is a young man who will be the defensive player of the year in our league."
Like Saturday's 77-73 win at Houston Baptist on Saturday, the game went back and forth throughout.
UNO, which led 34-33 at halftime, never had a lead larger than six, and there were 28 lead changes overall.
The Privateers led 82-76 with 1:26 to play after a pair of free throws from freshman
Charles Carmouche, but some late UNO turnovers and Texas State rebounding helped the Bobcats cut the margin to 82-81 following a Bush putback with 35 seconds to play
Carmouche, though, came up with two more clutch free throws to make it 84-81 with 18 seconds left, and the Bobcats' potential game-tying 3-pointer came up short with two seconds remaining.
Jaroslav Tyrna (10 points) clinched it with a free throw, giving the Privateers a win at a Southland Conference school for the third straight season.
"Our team is gaining confidence game by game, and it is coming at a great time with us starting conference play," Pasternack said.
UNO will wrap up a three-game road trip at 7 p.m. on Friday, as the Privateers open up Sun Belt Conference play at Louisiana-Monroe.
