Late Rally Lifts Men's Hoops Past Central Arkansas, 94-83

GAME BOOK (PDF) | POSTGAME QUOTES

NEW ORLEANS – As the final horn sounded in Lakefront Arena on Monday evening, there was a collective sigh of relief, history was made and the smiles were abundant as the University of New Orleans men's basketball team rallied late to defeat Southland Conference foe Central Arkansas, 94-83.
 
The Privateers trailed by as many as 11 at 68-57 with 12:47 left in regulation before outscoring the Bears 37-15 the rest of the way. Senior forward Kevin Hill led six UNO players in double figures offensively with a career-high 23 points and with a team-best 14 rebounds, he moved into a tie for ninth place in program history. With 620 career boards to date, Hill moved ahead of NBA veteran Butch Webster (612 from 1969-71) and is tied with Mark Petteway (620 from 1980-83).
 
In victory, UNO snapped a five-game losing streak to improve to 6-12 on the year and 2-4 in Southland action. Central Arkansas, meanwhile, fell to 3-14 overall and 2-4 in league play.
 
"We got into a media timeout, they huddled themselves up and said, 'Hey, this is it. We're going. We're making a run,'" UNO head coach Mark Slessinger said. "They had such resolve and determination in their eyes and I knew that they were serious. They finally turned the corner and figured out a way to win. They got down and started guarding again and kept them out of what they wanted to do.
 
"Give UCA credit. They played a great game but they ran out of gas a little between the injuries and the double road trip. Luckily, we were able to get them a little bit tired and they missed some shots, because they didn't miss them early. They were really special. Our guys found a way to get tough, get stops and win as a unit."
 
As a team, the Privateers shot 51.6 percent from the field (33-of-64), including a 15-of-26 performance in the second half (.577), while holding the Bears to a .429 clip (27-of-63). New Orleans had 20 assists on 33 baskets and committed just 10 turnovers. Central Arkansas actually out-rebounded UNO, 49-39, and both teams had 14 second-chance points. The Privateers, however, held a commanding 52-20 advantage in points in the paint, scored 22 points off 19 UCA turnovers and held a 14-0 edge in fast-break points. Hill's 23-point effort help spearhead the UNO reserves as the bench players outscored their counterparts from Central Arkansas, 34-20.
 
Junior forward Erik Thomas posted a double-double of his own with 14 points and 10 rebounds, junior guard Tevin Broyles added 13 points, sophomore forward Travin Thibodeaux had 12 and the junior guard tandem of Christavious Gill and Nate Frye scored 11 and 10, respectively. Gill led UNO with five assists, Broyles paced the defense with four steals and both Thibodeaux and freshman guard Cameron Reed had a blocked shot.
 
"They're starting to turn the corner," Slessinger said of his team. "I know we were at a low point 48 hours ago, but they're good kids. They're fighting and they want to do the right things. We're not losing on purpose. We've got to figure out ways to make winning plays. Tonight, we found some ways to make more winning plays."
 
The Privateers came out of the gates on fire, racing out to a 9-0 lead and never trailed at any point in the first half. UNO held a nine-point advantage at 41-32 with 3:02 to play in the opening stanza, but Central Arkansas scored nine of the final 12 points of the frame and outscored the Privateers 25-13 over the first 7:13of the second half to take a 68-57 advantage.
 
From there, Gill hit a jumper and the trio of Hill, Thibodeaux and Broyles combined to sink four free throws to make it a five-point affair. Frye sandwiched a jumper in the lane between single free throws by Albert Christensson and Jeff Lowery, Hill followed with a dunk, Reed drained a pair from the charity stripe and Gill scored a fast-break layup to give UNO a 71-70 lead it would not relinquish. The run continued as Thomas hit 1-of-2 free throws and Broyles converted a layup to give the Privateers a four-point lead.
 
The Bears whittled the lead down to one at 74-73 before Gill sank a 3-pointer from the left wing to create a bit of breathing room. The lead bounced between three and five for the next few minutes, but UNO put the game away with a 10-1 run late to put the game away. The highlight of the rally came when Frye stripped Lowery near midcourt, hit the ground to corral the loose ball and found Hill alone on the other end for a thunderous dunk to send the home crowd into a frenzy.
 
"[Tonight] was so important and special for Kevin," Slessinger added." When you look at our Top 10 rebounding list and the names that are on that list, it's Mt. Rushmore of UNO basketball. There are some pretty special people on that list. For a guy who only had one scholarship offer out of high school, and that was us, for him to buy into us and for us to buy into him, it's been a fun thing to watch. That hustle play with him and Nate was pretty special."
 
Jordan Howard paced Central Arkansas with a game-high 25 points while Lowery had 17 and Derreck Brooks scored 16. Jake Zuilhof led the Bears on the boards with 11 rebounds, Lowery handed out a team-best four assists and Brooks swatted a pair of shots.

The Privateers return to action on Saturday, Jan. 30, when they play host to McNeese State at 6:15 p.m. before closing out a three-game homestand on Monday, Feb. 1, with a 7 p.m. showdown against Nicholls. For tickets to those games and future Privateer sporting events can be purchased by clicking HERE or by calling the UNO Athletics Ticket Office at (504) 280-GAME (4263).