Box Score UNO-SEMO Box Score
Post Game Interviews • Slessinger • Nelson
NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Privateers dropped their second straight contest, falling at Lakefront Arena on Thursday by an 83-67 score to Southeast Missouri State.
The win was the second in a row for SEMO (5-4) which received double-double performances from Tyler Stone and Nino Johnson. Stone scored a game-high 23 points while also pulling down 14 rebounds with Johnson scoring 11 points along with his 11 rebounds.
Rarlensee Nelson netted a career-high 17 points for UNO (2-4) while also contributing five assists. Nelson shot 7 of 10 from the line in the contest to lead the Privateers to a season-best 72 percent clip from the charity stripe.
Lovell Cook added another 14 points for the hosts, which had split its four prior home games on the season.
Ranked ninth in nation in field goal defense, SEMO held UNO below 40 percent shooting from the field for just the second time this season. The effort by the Privateers followed a season-high 51.8 shooting performance on Monday night at Nicholls State.
SEMO started off the game in control and did not relinquish the lead through the contest.
The Redhawks made 10 of their 14 attempts from the field out of the gate while holding UNO to just 5 of 17 shooting in order to gain a 23-11 edge. The SEMO advantage grew to a first half high of 14 points at 29-15 with 8:33 before the break, just prior to a big move by Privateers.
UNO's defense held SEMO to just two made baskets in their final seven attempts while forcing five turnovers in the final six minutes prior to the intermission. The offensive struggle allowed the Privateers to pull within six points, a 40-34 deficit at the break.
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Cory Dixon lay-up with 16:39 remaining in the contest put UNO within four points at 44-40.
The Redhawks then responded with eight straight points, including a pair of three-pointers by Marland Smith. The spurt turned the tide in the contest for the Privateers, who were able to get within eight on several occasions before SEMO put the lead into double-digits for good with 7:56 left in the game.
Following fall semester final exams, the Privateers are slated to return to the court on Saturday, Dec. 8 at 6 p.m. CT against Atlantic-10 foe Duquesne.
NOTES
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Lovell Cook topped 50 percent shooting from the field for the sixth straight game this season. Cook shot 5 of 8 from the field to extend his streak, which now tops the career-best five-game streak of a year ago. Through games of Nov. 25, the forward ranked 21st in NCAA Division I.
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Rarlensee Nelson scored a career-high 17 points in the game – his second straight game posting a career-high effort following 13 against Nicholls on Monday. Nelson's total put him in double-figures for a second straight game and third time this season. Last year, Nelson posted double-figures in two games
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Thursday's game represented a return to Lakefront Arena for SEMO head coach Dickey Nutt and assistant Jessie Evans. Nutt served as the head coach at UNO's former Sun Belt rival Arkansas State from 1995 through 2008 while Evans was the head coach at Louisiana-Lafayette from 1997 through 2004.
