New Orleans Slips Up at Incarnate Word, 97-66

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SAN ANTONIO, Texas. – The New Orleans men's basketball team couldn't hold off the quick-fire offense of Incarnate Word on Monday night, falling on the road to the Cardinals in Southland Conference action, 97-66.
 
The game was the first ever for the Privateers in the McDermott Center, starting off the first of a three-game road trip for New Orleans who sees its overall record move to 5-7 and 1-2 in league play.
 
"It was a difficult night for us across the board," said New Orleans head coach Mark Slessinger. "It was not our best effort and this is not a picture of what our basketball club is capable of. We'll get back to work and fix it and be ready for our next time out."

The Privateers won the opening tip as Kevin Hill tapped it out to Christavious Gill, giving New Orleans the first crack at the Incarnate Word (9-4, 1-2 SLC) defense.
 
But it was the Cardinals that put in the first field goal of the night to take the early 2-0 lead. Hill then got the Privateers evened off with Incarnate Word with his layup moments later, knotting things up at two after the first minute of action.
 
UIW extended its lead up to three, but the Privateers had an answer as a layup from Gill brought the lead back down to one at 5-4. New Orleans kept the hot-shooting Cardinals at bay up until the 12:44 mark at 24-15 when the home team went on the offensive run.
 
An 11-0 stretch from the Cardinals brought their lead up to 20 points over a three-minute span, going up 35-15 at the midway point in the first. New Orleans managed to get the lead below 20 three more times, the last of which came on a Brown layup off of the Terrance Syon assist, setting it at 44-25 Cardinals with 5:26 to go.
 
But strong shooting from Incarnate Word brought the Cardinals to a 61-33 halftime lead.
 
New Orleans came out of the locker room firing, Gill putting in the fast-break layup after coming up with the steal on the other end of the floor. But Incarnate Word again responded, sinking a quick three to make it a 64-35 game two minutes in.
 
An 8-0 run with 13:30 to play got the Privateers within 22 points with a free throw from Travin Broyles getting the squad going. Broyles then added a three to his stat line followed by layups from Gill and Michael Zeno to set the score at 71-49 Cardinals.
 
Incarnate Word then took nine straight points over the next 3:12, boosting its lead back to 29 at 80-51 down the home stretch of the contest. Two more threes from the Cardinals followed by a free throw then put the game away for the home team as UIW took the 97-66 win.
 
Broyles had his sixth double-figure scoring game of the season, leading the Privateers with 13 points while Gill also ended in double-digits with his 12. Broyles found plenty of success at the free-throw line, going 7-of-10.
 
Weisbrod led New Orleans on the boards, bringing down six rebounds with two assists and five points.
 
The Privateers remain on the road, taking on Houston Baptist this Saturday, Jan. 17, at 7 p.m. CT.

To keep up with the latest New Orleans men' basketball news, follow the team on Twitter @UNOPrivateers and @Privateers_MBB or by liking New Orleans Privateers on Facebook.