BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – Junior guard
Christavious Gill scored a game-high 21 points and senior forward
Kevin Hill led all players with 13 rebounds, but it was not enough as the University of New Orleans men's basketball team dropped its season-opening contest to host Bowling Green, 79-61, on Saturday afternoon in the Stroh Center.
The Privateers scored the game's first two points on a jumper by sophomore wing
Michael Zeno only to see the Falcons answer with a 14-0 run to set the tone for the contest. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for UNO in season openers and the squad will look to get things turned around on Monday when it travels to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for a 6 p.m. (CST) showdown with Duquesne.
"We're frustrated in the way we played," head coach
Mark Slessinger said. "We should have come out and been a lot more efficient offensively. We had some wide-open looks early that just didn't fall, we didn't convert and it snowballed on us. Defensively, we didn't play at the level we have all during the preseason and our scrimmages. We didn't play at that level at any point. I'm frustrated for our guys that we didn't come out and show the progress that we've made and that we've seen on a day-to-day basis."
As a team, New Orleans posted a 35.5 field goal percent from the field on 22-of-62 shooting, including a .333 clip (10-of-30) in the first half when the Privateers were 1-for-7 from beyond the 3-point arc, and a 65.0 free throw percentage (13-of-20). UNO finished 4-of-14 from downtown and connected on 7-of-8 free throws in the second half. The Falcons combined to shoot .455 (25-of-55) and turned 27 Privateer fouls into a 23 made free throws in 33 attempts.
Gill – who finished 7-of-15 from the floor and a perfect 6-for-6 from the free-throw line – was the lone UNO player to finish with double-digit scoring totals while Zeno and junior forward
Erik Thomas followed with eight apiece. In addition to his rebounding total, Hill paced the Privateers with three assists and freshman guard
Cameron Reed led the defense with a pair of steals. Thomas, Zeno and sophomore
Travin Thibodeaux, meanwhile, each had a blocked shot.
"Christavious came out and played well offensively.
Kevin Hill was really good, coming out and getting himself 13 rebounds. He set the tone again from where he was last year. Mike Zeno had really good minutes for us at the wing and forward positions. We're really proud of Mike and his development in the offseason and how hard he's worked. Erik [Thomas] was good. He left some points on the table and he'll get better."
Both teams got off to a slow start Zeno jumper 2:15 into the contest was the lone field goal by either team in a combined nine shots over the first three-plus minutes. Bowling Green's 14-point run over the next 3:11 gave the Falcons control of the contest, but the Privateers hung tough and cut the deficit to six on two occasions midway through the half.
Down 37-27 at the break, UNO saw Bowling Green go on a 20-12 run over the first 8:52 of the second half to go up 20. The Falcons advantage swelled to as many as 24 at 70-46 with 6:54 to play in regulation and again at 74-50 just over three minutes later. The Privateers outscored Bowling Green 11-5 the rest of the way but the deficit proved to be too much to overcome.
"Hopefully, we won't see this level of performance again and we'll play at a higher level on Monday. The good part about this is we've got a quick turnaround. We've got a short time to fix things and get ready for a very, very good Duquesne team, who scores at a very high rate."
Rasheed Worrell led four Bowling Green players in double figures with 15 points, followed by Wes Alcegaire with 14, Antwon Lillard with 13 and Zach Denny with 11. Worrell fell two rebounds shy of a double-double with a team-best eight boards and the tandem of David Joseph and J.D. Tisdale had three assists each. Denny and Joseph shared the Falcon lead with two steals apiece while Tisdale had a game-high two blocks.
Following Monday's game Duquesne, New Orleans will open the home portion of the schedule on Thursday, Nov. 19, against Pensacola Christian College at 7 p.m. in Lakefront Arena. The game against the Eagles is the second half of a Privateer basketball double-header as the women's team will take on LSU-Alexandria at 5:30 p.m.
Season tickets for the UNO men's basketball team remain on sale at prices of $100 for general admission and $500 for Courtside Krewe status. UNO alumni can order season tickets for $80 while faculty and staff season tickets run $50. Single-game tickets are also available for pre-order and at the gate at $10 for general admission, $5 for children 12 and under and $7 each for groups of 10 or more. Current students can attend all UNO events free of charge with a valid ID.
Tickets can be purchased by calling the UNO Athletics Ticket Office at (504) 280-GAME (4263) or visiting logging on to the internet at UNOPrivateers.universitytickets.com/packages/PackageList.asp and clicking on "Season Tickets" in the header.
