Box Score UNO-CBC Box Score
NEW ORLEANS – The University of New Orleans men's basketball team closed its 2011-12 home slate with a convincing 102-62 win over Champion Baptist at the Human Performance Center on Saturday afternoon.
UNO (17-14) topped 100 points for the first time since a Dec. 29, 2007 victory over William Carey.
The win over CBC (13-23) enabled the Privateers to clinch their second straight winning season while also improving the team's home mark to 13-2, tying head coach
Mark Slessinger with Ron Greene for the most home wins during an inaugural season at the helm of the UNO program.
Seniors
Antonio Wertz and
Brandon Knight made the most of the final appearance on the Lakefront.
Wertz scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Privateers while Knight dished out a career-high equaling nine assists to go with 12 points.
“It was a great day for Wertz and Knight to be able to finish out their senior year 13-2 on campus,” said Slessinger. “It was a great step forward for both of them to have laid the foundation to build back our program.”
“Both of these guys have been so unselfish and have been very good student-athletes. They represent the direction we want to build this program towards.”
Antonio Holmes and
Albert Peterson scored 11 and 10 points, respectively with
Rarlensee Nelson notching a career-best 10 assists.
The game turned in the favor of UNO early in the opening half.
The Privateers shot 55.6 percent from the field in the first half and jumped out to a double-digit lead on the heels of a 13-0 run that broke open a 9-8 contest.
The end result of the spurt which featured back-to-back three-pointers by
Max Banchy and three assists by Nelson put UNO ahead 21-8 with 12:45 to go in the first half.
The lead continued to grow and reached a first half high of 22 points on a lay-up by
Chris Costanza with 2:08 remaining before the intermission as the Privateers carried a 45-28 edge at intermission.
UNO's shots continued to fall in the second half as the hosts hit 25 of 41 attempts from the field for a 61 percent clip in the game's second 20 minutes.
The Privateer reserves scored 29 of their season-high 48 points during the second half as UNO outscored the visiting Tigers 57-34 over the last 20 minutes. The home team's advantage grew to a high of 41 points with 57 seconds remaining on a fast break dunk by
Colby Barnes – one of several by the Privateers down the stretch.
“I thought our bench came in and gave us great energy,” said Slessinger. “They really played hard and unselfish, putting forth an effort that we were really excited about today.”
Brandon Likins led CBC with 23 points and seven rebounds. Matthias Capaci added 19 points and three assists for the Tigers, who fell to UNO for the second time this season.
“This was one of the last games for CBC as they prepare to enter their national tournament next week,” said Slessinger. “I am excited for my friend and their head coach Eric Capaci.”
The campaign comes to a conclusion on Monday night at Selma (Ala) for the Privateers, who will tip off at 7:30. UNO defeated SU 78-58 in the team's home opener on Nov. 15 at Lakefront Arena.
