Box Score NEW ORLEANS ? New Orleans senior forward Kyndall Dykes had a career-high 25 points and was 13-for-20 from the free-throw line as the Privateers defeated North Texas 71-65 on Monday at Lakefront Arena.
Dykes had 15 points in the second half, including a 9-for-16 effort from the charity stripe, as UNO (5-6, 1-1 Sun Belt Conference) won its league home debut for the seventh straight season.
T.J. Worley had 16 points and seven rebounds, while Jaroslav Tyrna had 10 points and a game-high eight boards.
The Privateers shot 52 percent from the field, including 62 percent in the first half.
Josh White paced North Texas (8-3, 1-1) with 19 points, and Dominique Johnson came off the bench with 13. The Mean Green struggled from the field, shooting 36 percent overall and 29 percent in the first half.
North Texas guard Tristan Thompson, coming off a career-high 27 points in a win at Louisiana-Lafayette last Thursday, was held to nine points on 3-for-13 shooting.
North Texas was 1-for-7 from 3-point range in the first half and was 8-for-25 overall (32 percent).
UNO, which never trailed, led 33-27 at halftime.
The Privateers opened up a 45-34 lead with 15:55 to play after Worley hit a 3-pointer. After a Worley layup made it 47-37 with 15:02 remaining, the Mean Green went on a 10-3 spurt to make it 50-47 with 11:48 left.
North Texas never got the lead under three, however.
It was the 12th time in the schools' last 13 meetings that the game was decided by six points or less.
UNO will continue a three-game homestand at 4 p.m. on Sunday against South Dakota. For ticket information, please call 504-280-GAME or log on to UNOPrivateers.com.
