MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Turnovers have been a problem lately for the University of New Orleans basketball team, and the bug bit them again on Thursday.
UNO committed a season-high 24 turnovers as Middle Tennessee took a 66-46 win at the Murphy Center.
Montarrio Haddock and Rod Emanuel each had 14 points, and James Washington added 11 as the Blue Raiders (12-10, 7-3 Sun Belt Conference) swept the season series against UNO (7-14, 2-8).
Emanuel and reserve Trevor Ottley each had four steals, and the hosts had 11 swipes overall. The Blue Raiders scored 26 points off the UNO miscues.
The Privateers have averaged 21 turnovers in the last three games.
""We're just not taking care of the basketball, and I think a lot of it is just inexperience," said UNO head coach Joe Pasternack. "You're not going to win in college basketball when you turn the ball over like that."
Junior center Jaroslav Tyrna came off the bench to tally a team-high 13 points for UNO, while sophomore guard Charles Carmouche chipped in 12.
The Privateers shot just 36 percent from the field, while MT hit at a 49 percent clip.
UNO did hold MT All-Sun Belt forward Desmond Yates to just five points on 2-of-10 shooting.
But the Blue Raiders did not need their standout. After holding a narrow 25-24 lead with 2:16 left in the first half, MT finished the frame on a 7-0 run to grab a 32-24 lead at the break.
The Blue Raiders opened the second half on a 13-0 spurt to hand MT a 45-24 advantage with 13:49 remaining.
UNO never got closer than 15 points the rest of the way.
"It seems like each game we give up a run where we go on a big scoring drought," Pasternack said. "The guys played their hearts out for the first 18 minutes, but give credit to Middle Tennessee for going on that run."
The Privateers will continue the weekend road swing on Saturday with a 3 p.m. matchup at Western Kentucky. The game will be televised on the Sun Belt Network as well as ESPN360.com.
