UNO (8-4) vs North Alabama (6-2)
Sunday, Dec. 18 • 2:30 p.m. CST • Lakefront Arena
Live Video • Live Stats • Game Notes
NEW ORLEANS – The University of New Orleans men's basketball team will need to fend off another strong challenge in order to maintain its home winning streak on Sunday when it hosts North Alabama at 2:30 p.m. at Lakefront Arena.
UNO (8-4) has won 13 straight games at home, including six this season.
The Privateers' eight overall wins at this juncture of the season are tied for the third-most in school history before a change in the calendar year with four contests remaining before the 2012 portion of the slate begins.
Head coach
Mark Slessinger's squad has won five in a row, including a 93-86 victory at Concordia-Selma on Friday. In the contest,
Antonio Wertz scored 22 points to lead UNO to a road win in a very difficult environment and presently leads the roster with 12.8 points an outing.
Second on the squad in scoring is
Lovell Cook, who is now averaging 12.7 points. Cook scored 18 points against the Hornets on Friday night and has produced at least 16 points a game in his last three appearances on the floor.
UNA (6-2) represents the second NCAA Division II foe on the UNO slate and the first from the Gulf South Conference, a league in which the Privateers are presently slated to join in 2012-13.
Four of the Lions' six wins on the campaign have come against NCAA Division II competition including Clark-Atlanta, Morehouse, Montevallo and Ouachita Baptist.
Bobby Champagne has been a head coach at UNA since the 2004-05 season and prior to his arrival in Florence, Ala. had stops at former Privateer Sun Belt Conference rivals Louisiana-Lafayette and South Alabama, in addition to a stint as a AAU head coach in his hometown of Lafayette, La.
Three scorers average 14 or more points on the Lions' roster led by Beaumont Beasley with 15.9. Others are Theron Jenkins and Warrick Mastin with 15.8 and 14.3, respectively.
Sunday's game will be broadcast on WGSO 990 AM, WGSO.com and UNOPrivateers.com with Jude Young providing the call of the game.
Following this weekend's action, the Privateers will take a nine-day break before resuming their season on Dec. 27 at North Texas. The contest against the Mean Green is the first half of a back-to-back that features Colorado on Dec. 28.
