Southeast Missouri Redhawks (4-4) at New Orleans Privateers (2-3)
Thursday, Nov. 29, 2012 • 7 p.m. CST • Lakefront Arena • WGSO 990 AM
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UNO Game Notes • SEMO Game Notes
NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans men's basketball program will play its final game before fall semesters exams on Thursday at 7 p.m. when Southeast Missouri visits Lakefront Arena.
Thursday's game will be broadcast on WGSO 990 AM and WGSO.com. Live stats and video of the contest can be found on UNOPrivateers.com.
UNO (2-3) fell 92-79 to Nicholls State on Monday in the team's road opener.
In the setback, the Privateers shot a season-best 51.8 percent. Through five games, UNO has shot 50 percent or better from the field three times, halfway to last year's total.
In addition to the team's leading scorer
Lovell Cook (14 points per game) who has topped 50 percent in each contest, head coach
Mark Slessinger has seen improved shooting over the last few games from several players, most notably junior
Eddie Denard and freshman
Evans Ganapamo.
During the course of the last three contests, Denard has made 11 of 13 shots from the field, including a perfect 4-for-4 effort against Bethune Cookman. A double-figure scorer his last two times out, Ganapamo's point production has benefitted from 7 of 11 shooting from the field in addition to connecting on 4 of 8 shots from beyond the arc.
On the defensive side, UNO has come up with a season-high 14 steals in consecutive contests. Juniors
Corey Blake and Traddarius McPhearson produced four steals apiece against NSU on Monday, the best single-game performances by a Privateer this season.
Thursday's opponent SEMO (4-4) snapped a three-game losing streak with a 96-55 win over Hannibal-LaGrange on Monday. The Redhawks own wins over Division I foes McNeese State and Tennessee-Chattanooga this year.
Tyler Stone is the leading scorer for SEMO with 15.3 points per game while ranking second on the squad with 8.8 rebounds a contest. Corey Wilford follows Stone with 14.7 points an outing while Nino Johnson paces the ball club with 8.9 rebounds.
The Redhawks' staff features two familiar faces in head coach Dickey Nutt and assistant Jessie Evans. Nutt was the head coach at UNO's former Sun Belt rival Arkansas State from 1995 through 2008 while Evans directed Louisiana-Lafayette from 1997 to 2004.
This Thursday's meeting is the first all-time between the schools with a second encounter scheduled for the Show Me Center on Dec. 19 at 6 p.m.
Following the game against SEMO and some time off to focus on final exams, the Privateers will return to the court on Dec. 8 in Pittsburgh at 6 p.m. to take on Duquesne. UNO's next home game is Dec. 12 against Nicholls State.
