FORT WORTH, Texas – The New Orleans Privateers men's basketball team (1-1) closed the game strong, but could not overcome a hot shooting night in an 86-71 loss to the TCU Horned Frogs (3-0) on Thursday at the Wilkerson-Greines Center.
The Horned Frogs jumped out to an early 9-3 lead, scoring on their first four possessions. However, New Orleans was able to get to the line seven times in the first four minutes to help stem the early tide of the contest. The Privateers hit six of those seven early attempts at the charity stripe.
The next 10 minutes were played close to evenly as New Orleans took advantage of early trips to the line. However, TCU was able to slowly draw away in the first half, building a lead as large as 21 which was the halftime margin. The Horned Frogs led 54-33 at the break while shooting just under 68 percent (19-28).
In the second half, New Orleans outscored TCU 11-5 at the start to cut the deficit to 16. Shortly after, Christian Gore came off the bench and fired a three in his first shot off the bench, one of six triples drained by the Horned Frogs on the evening.
New Orleans did close the game strong and refused to back down, putting up a 16-4 run over the final six minutes. The Privateers also held their own on the boards, pulling down 27 rebounds to 28 for TCU. The Horned Frogs wound up shooting 56.6 percent from the field while New Orleans shot at a 46.3 percent clip.
"We had some opportunities where guys just got experience. We had different guys step up at different times, but to beat teams like this you've got to be pretty precise and not make mistakes and we had some turnovers at costly times," said Coach Mark Slessinger.Kevin Brown led the Privateers with 21 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field and 8-of-12 from the free throw line.
Terrance Syon landed just shy of a double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds.
Christavious Gill added 13 points and
Tevin Broyles had seven points, four assists, and three rebounds.
TCU was led by Brandon Parrish's 22 points. Three other Horned Frogs reached double digits with Chris Washburn, Karviar Shepherd, and Kenrich Williams putting up 14, 12, and 10 points respectively. Kyan Anderson scored seven points and dished out a game-high five assists.
The Privateers next travel to Texas A&M to take on the Aggies on Nov. 28. Tip is scheduled for 12:00 p.m.
