Box Score NEW ORLEANS - Kyndall Dykes made two critical baskets down the stretch
and T.J. Worley added a free throw with 11.7 seconds left as the
University of New Orleans pulled out a 69-65 victory over Middle
Tennessee at Lakefront Arena on Saturday night.
Dykes
tallied 19 points in the game, including 11 in the second half for UNO
(9-11, 4-5 SBC) as the Privateers won on the Lakefront for the fourth
time in the last five games.
Worley scored a matching 19 points, 14 of which came from a 6 of 9 shooting
performance in the first half. While only scoring five points in the
second half, the senior guard made the most crucial points, a free
throw with 11.7 seconds and two with 1.2 seconds.
Justin Archie added another 11 points in his second start of the season.
MT
(12-8, 6-3 SBC) was led by Desmond Yates with 22 points while Demetrius
Green and Nigel Johnson scored 11 and 10 points, respectively
In
the first half, both teams shot over 50 percent with the Privateers
making their attempts from the field at a 60 percent clip and the Blue
Raiders responding with 52 percent of their shots going in.
MT took a six-point lead on several occasions during the opening half after UNO jumped out to a 6-2 lead to begin the game.
The
Privateers would bounce back from the last six-point lead for MT at
16-10, scoring 13 of the next 17 points to take a 23-20 lead. While the
teams would tie twice, UNO never lost sight of the lead, going into the
half with a 37-32 advantage.
Despite several close calls, the Privateers would maintain their lead for much of the second half.
The
closest MT would get was within two at 56-54 with a Yates lay-up with
6:19 remaining in the contest, tying the score at 56 apiece, the first
tie since 18-18, halfway through the opening half.
After a tie at 58, a Dykes lay-up with 4:35 started a 7-0 run that included another Dykes basket and one by Jahmal Burroughs as the Privateers took a 64-58 lead.
The
Blue Raiders would make their run. Several three-point attempts to
close the gap missed the mark before a Johnson three-pointer with 16
seconds remaining cut the lead to three.
A Yates lay-up with 12 second left, following a UNO turnover under the basket trimmed to lead further before Worley came through with his free throws down the stretch.
Next up for the Privateers, a Thursday night contest on the Lakefront against Florida International at 7 p.m.
