GAME BOOK (PDF)
MUNCIE, Indiana – Junior guard
Christavious Gill scored all of his team-best 12 points in the second half, but a cold Privateers shooting streak midway through the second half spelled doom as the University of New Orleans men's basketball team fell to Ball State, 66-52, on Saturday afternoon in John E. Worthen Arena.
UNO (2-5) was down just four at the 11:36 mark courtesy of a jumper by freshman
Coleman Edwards but the Privateers went cold from there. Their next field goal came 7:21 later when Gill buried the first of consecutive 3-pointers. In between, New Orleans managed just five free throws and went 0-for-8 from the field with a pair of turnovers while Ball State (7-2) connected on 5-of-9 shots, including a 3-pointer, to take a commanding 55-44 advantage.
Gill added another trey with 3:48 to play and connected on a layup 1:02 later for the Privateers lone tallies the rest of the way. The Cardinals, meanwhile, hit 7-of-8 free throws and added a pair of baskets by Jeremiah Davis over the final four minutes to account for the final score.
"They had two runs – the one at the end of the first half when they hit three 3s and went on an 11-0 run and when we went cold in the second half," head coach
Mark Slessinger said. "That really hurt us. We just have to be able to make shots and finish. We just went on a cold spell and didn't. Percentage wise, we guarded decently. We had opportunities to finish and didn't, and that's frustrating."
As a team, UNO connected on 19-of-55 field goals (.345), including a 4-of-14 showing from beyond the 3-point arc (.286), while shooting a season-best 71.4 percent from the free throw line (10-of-14). The Privateer defense allowed Ball State to shoot 43.4 from the floor (23-of-53) and 7-of-23 from downtown (.304)
Gill was the lone Privateer to post double-digit scoring totals while sophomore forward
Travin Thibodeaux and sophomore wing
Michael Zeno added eight each. Thibodeaux, who's eight points was a season high, paced New Orleans with a season-best seven rebounds. Junior point guard
Nate Frye tallied a game-high five assists, Thibodeaux and Zeno shared team-high steal honors with two apiece, and senior forward
Kevin Hill had the team's lone blocked shot.
The two teams traded buckets over the first seven-plus minutes of the game, and UNO made its first push with a 10-5 run to take a five-point lead with 7:25 to go in the first half. Ball State answered with an 11-0 run which included three consecutive 3-pointers to go ahead 26-20 and the Privateers followed with an 8-4 rally over the final 3:24 of the frame to go into the locker room down by a pair.
New Orleans tied the game at 30-all on a Hill jumper early in the second half and the game was tied again at 37-all with 13:18 to play. From there, Ball State got a free throw from Trey Moses, a 3-pointer by Jeremie Tyler and a dunk by Davis to take a 43-37 lead the Cardinals would not relinquish.
"Each time out, we're growing," Slessinger added. "We're figuring out some weaknesses and figuring out some deficiencies. When you play this tough of a road schedule, it's pretty unforgiving. You've got to be able to overcome some very, very tough adversity. You've got to be able to make some tough plays down the stretch in tough atmospheres. In the end, this can't make us anything but better. But it sure would feel better with a couple of wins."
Davis led Ball State with a game-high 13 points, followed by Tyler with 11 and Franko House with 10. Bo Calhoun led all players with 12 rebounds and shared team-high block honors with Trey Moses at two each. Naiel Smith had three of the Cardinals' 12 assists and Calhoun headlined the defense with a trio of steals.
UNO returns to action on Saturday, Dec. 12, when the Privateers head back to Lakefront Arena to take on Williams Baptist at 6:15 p.m. Tickets to that game and future Privateer sporting events can be purchased by clicking
HERE or by calling the UNO Athletics Ticket Office at (504) 280-GAME (4263).
