Box Score
NEW ORLEANS, La. – The New Orleans Privateers men's basketball team (10-11, 7-6 Southland) missed a game-tying three-pointer in a 72-69 loss to the McNeese State Cowboys (8-17, 6-7) at Lakefront Arena on Sunday evening.
Christavious Gill tried a long range triple with four seconds left that missed on the right side of the rim.
Kevin Hill tracked down the rebound and tried a desperation shot that missed as time expired, preserving the win for the Cowboys.
"They made some pretty amazing plays. If you could do an encyclopedia of crazy plays, I think it happened in that last two minutes. We've got to do a better job of managing our possessions and being able to convert," said Head Coach
Mark Slessinger.
A big second half propelled the Privateers to a second half lead as large as eight points at the 4:47 mark. The Cowboys rallied back to take a 64-63 lead with 1:55 remaining. Ledrick Eackles scored six straight points to put the Cowboys ahead.
Isaac Mack briefly gave the Privateers the lead back on a driving layup. The Cowboys responded with a 7-0 spurt to decide the game as New Orleans committed two crucial turnovers in that stretch. Eackles scored 13 of the Cowboys' last 16 points.
The Privateers started quickly by scoring on four of their first five possessions to race to an early 10-2 lead. McNeese responded with seven straight points of their own to pull to within one point. Kevin Hardy gave the Cowboys their first lead at 16-15 with a layup with 11:27 remaining in the first half.
From there, McNeese checked out to a double digit lead and had an advantage as big as 13 points when they held a 34-21 lead with 4:47 left in the first half. New Orleans clawed back to cut the deficit to single digits, trailing 36-28 to the locker room. The Cowboys shot 56 percent in the opening half and sank six triples.
New Orleans turned the story in the second half by using a 15-0 run over a six-minute span to get their first lead of the second half at 44-41. The Cowboys missed all three shots and committed three turnovers in that span.
The Privateers were led by Mack who tied a career-high with 14 points and set a new career-high with eight assists.
Cory Dixon posted a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds. The Privateers were held to just 39 percent from the field, and fell despite winning the rebounding battle 34-23.
Eackles wound up with 20 points to lead the Cowboys' scoring effort. Kevin Hardy, Desharick Guidry, and Adrian Fields each added 12 points as McNeese shot 58.1 percent from the field and made nine triples in 14 attempts.
New Orleans continues their five-game home stand against Southeastern on Thursday, Feb. 20.
