Men's Basketball Drops Wild 103-95 Overtime Contest At UMass

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AMHERST, Massachusetts – Six Privateers scored in double figures and junior forward Erik Thomas posted the first double-double of his Division I career with 16 points and 13 rebounds, but it was not enough as the University of New Orleans men's basketball team dropped a hard-fought, 103-95, overtime contest to UMass on Wednesday evening at the Mullins Center.
 
With the score knotted at 81-all at the end of regulation, the Minutemen (6-4) got a three-point play from center Rashaaan Holloway, who hit a layup plus the and-one free throw and UMass never trailed again. UNO (3-6) later tied the score at 86-86 and 88-88 only to see the home team hit its free throws down the stretch to come out on top.
 
"There is no moral victory for me," head coach Mark Slessinger said. "It's a loss and I'm not happy about it. What I am happy about is there are specific plays where I can see our team improving. I can see us getting better in areas that we're working on. What you worry about is when you're working on things and you don't see that carry over into the game.
 
"We're seeing that carry over from training and practice into the games, and that's the part that's fun to see. That's the part that I'm excited bout. That's a positive step. I'm not happy about the loss. I'm disappointed. I'm frustrated.  This was a win that our program needed and one that I felt like we earned tonight but just didn't get."
 
As a team, the Privateers hit 35-of-79 field goals (.443), including a 7-of-22 showing from beyond the 3-point line (.318), while shooting a season-best 90.0 percent from the free throw line after connecting on 18-of-20 shots from the charity stripe. The difference in the game came from the opponent free throw line where UMass was 35-of-46, including a 15-of-17 showing in the extra period. The Minutemen hit 50.0 percent from the field (31-of-62) for the contest with a 6-of-18 showing from downtown (.333).
 
Freshman guard Cameron Reed was second to Thomas for the UNO offense with 15 points, followed by junior guard Christavious Gill and senior forward Kevin Hill with 14 apiece, junior guard Nate Frye with 11 and junior guard Tevin Broyles with 10. Frye tied a career-high and led all players with eight assists to go with a pair of steals. Thomas paced the defense with three thefts and sophomore forward Travin Thibodeaux had two of the Privateers' three blocked shots.
 
"I'm proud of our team's effort," Slessinger said. "I was proud of our spirit. I was proud of our guys' hearts. They played as a unit and very unselfishly. We had major contributions from every single guy that came on this trip with us. I was so proud of that – from Travis Avery taking a huge charge in the first half to guys coming in, stepping up and playing very well."
 
UMass scored the game's first two points on a layup by Holloway before UNO held the Minutemen scoreless for nearly nine minutes to take a 6-2 lead. The Privateer advantage swelled to as many as 10 at 20-10 and again at 22-12 before UMass responded with a 22-11 run to tie the game at 33-all with 3:57 to go before the break. The two teams would trade the next 12 points before  UMass capped the stanza with a jumper by Dante Clark to take a 41-39 lead into the locker room at halftime.
 
The Minutemen opened the second half with a 9-0 run to make it an 11-point affair, but the Privateers refused to go away quietly. New Orleans cut the deficit to three at 57-54 with 12:46 to play in regulation and took a 67-66 lead on a Frye layup 5:31 later. UNO held a four-point lead at 74-70 following a three-point play by Thomas only to see UMass score four straight to tie the game at 74-all.
 
A 3-pointer by freshman guard Coleman Edwards broke the deadlock momentarily and, as they had done all night, the Minutemen counted with a 7-2 run to take an 81-79 led with one minute to go. The Privateers tied the game on a layup by Hill, got a stop the next time down the court and had a chance to win the game at the end of regulation. Layup attempts by Gill and Hill, however, were no good to set the stage for the overtime period.
 
"I'm so happy and proud of the effort [the team] gave," Slessinger added. "I'm disappointed that we didn't come away with the win. It hurts my heart. I'm disappointed in a lot of ways that we could not find a way to make one more play in regulation to finish this thing out."
 
The UMass guard tandem of Trey Davis and Donte Clark combined for 70 points, five assists and seven steals. Davis had 40 points on 10-of-18 shooting with a pair of 3-pointers while equaling UNO's effort from the free throw line all by his lonesome. Clark, meanwhile, was 9-of-14 from the field, 4-of-6 from beyond the arc, and 8-of-12 from the free throw line to finish with 30 points.
 
Holloway rounded out three Minutemen in double figures with 13 points. Clark paced the team with eight rebounds, Davis tallied a game-high four steals and Zach Coleman handed out a team-best six assists.
 
The Privateers return to action on Monday, Dec. 21, when they travel to Cajun Country to take on former Sun Belt Conference rival Louisiana-Lafayette at 7 p.m. in the Cajun Dome. From there, UNO will close out the non-conference portion of the 2015-16 campaign on Dec. 29 against Blue Mountain College in Lakefront Arena. Tipoff for that contest is slated for 5:30 p.m.

Tickets to that contest and future Privateer sporting events can be purchased by clicking HERE or by calling the UNO Athletics Ticket Office at (504) 280-GAME (4263).

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