Box Score UNO-Rice Box Score
HOUSTON – Back on the road for the first time since Jan. 8, New Orleans was defeated 95-71 by Rice at Tudor Fieldhouse on Saturday night.
After trailing Rice (4-13) by 22 points early in the second half, UNO (4-12) was able to trim the deficit to as low as 13 points following a
Maurice County jumper with 10:10 remaining in the contest. Ahead 64-51, the Owls ended the game by outscoring the Privateers 31-20.
Rice shot at a blistering 61.3 percent clip from the field in the contest. Tamir Jackson led the hosts with a game-high 24 points, shooting 11 of 16 for the game.
The game turned in the opening half. With the score knotted at 10-all, the Owls scored 21 of the next 27 points to take a 31-16 advantage. Rice made 10 of 14 shots during their offensive spurt and jumped out to a 44-27 lead at the half.
In the second half, the Owls pushed their lead to a game-high 22 points with 18:48 left on a Jackson three-pointer. Each time UNO threatened in the contest, Rice drained another three, making 12 shots from beyond the arc in the game.
Lovell Cook led the Privateers with 18 points on 7 of 10 shooting. Cook is averaging 19 points per game over the last three contests.
Rarlensee Nelson added 10 points and six assists for UNO.
In addition to Jackson, the remaining four members of the Owls' starting lineup reached double-digits. Julian DeBose reached 20 points with Max Guercy adding 18 points to join Jackson in pacing the group.
The Privateers' stretch of three games in five days continues on Monday at Lakefront Arena against New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT). Tip is slated for a 7 p.m. with tickets on-sale by visiting TicketMaster.com or the Lakefront Arena Box Office.
NOTES
Maurice County made his second straight start of the season on Saturday night.
UNO's bench outscored Rice 19-6 in the contest. The Privateer reserves have outscored their counterparts in 13 of 16 games this season for a 13-2-1 record.
Lovell Cook shot 7 of 10 from the field in the contest. The effort was his fourth straight over 50 percent. On the season, Cook has shot 50 percent or better in 14 of the team's 16 contests.
Kevin Hill extended his streak of games with a block to five. Hill's streak is the longest since
Antonio Wertz tallied a block in seven straight games starting on Nov. 26, 2011 against Tulane and continuining through Dec. 16, 2011 against Concordia-Selma.
