Box Score CLINTON, Miss. - The University of New Orleans hung on for a 67-64 victory over Mississippi College on Monday night, after blowing a 17-point first half lead and being forced to rally from behind to take the contest.
Zach Kinsley scored 18 points to lead UNO (2-1) with
Ryan Kinsley and
Antonio Wertz adding 12 points apiece.
Greg Pulliam paced MC (1-1) with 21 points on 7 of 12 shooting from the field. Rodney Brumfield contributed 10 points with seven rebounds.
UNO found itself in a 4-0 hole to start the game before
Ryan Kinsley made two three-pointers as part of an 11-0 run by the Privateers to move into the driver's seat. The UNO lead grew to 17 points on a
Brandon Canady three-pointer with 5:25 remaining in the opening half to take a 35-18 lead.
The large advantage would diminish over the next 10 minutes.
MC scored 15 of the first half's final 17 points to close the gap to 37-33 at the break. The Choctaws' run continued into the second half as the hosts scored the first eight points after the break, taking a 39-37 lead on a Pulliam lay-up with 16:11 to go as part of the spurt.
UNO finally showed some life when a
Zach Kinsley jumper with 13:18 remaining in the contest represented the Privateers' first field goal of the half and put UNO ahead 42-41.
The two teams would exchange leads before a
Jaroslav Tyrna lay-up with 9:13 left started a 13-3 run that put UNO ahead 60-51. Another Privateer scoring drought allowed the Choctaws to jump ahead 63-62, on the heels of a run in which they scored 13 of the next 15 points.
Ryan Kinsley's three-pointer put UNO up 65-63 with 1:08 to go. After a string of turnovers on both ends of the floor,
Zach Kinsley added a lay-up with 16 seconds for the final points of the game as MC missed two potential game-tying three-pointers in the final 11 seconds.
The Privateers will make their home debut on Wednesday at 4 p.m. at Lakefront Arena against Louisiana College. The Wildcats took a 81-78 victory in Pineville, La. in the team's previous meeting.
