Men's Hoops Celebrates Homecoming With 76-64 Win Over McNeese State

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NEW ORLEANS – There was an air of excitement on the University of New Orleans campus as the Homecoming 2016 festivities were in full swing, and the Privateer men's basketball team sent the crowd home happy with a 76-64 win over Southland Conference foe McNeese State on Monday evening in Lakefront Arena.
 
UNO held a slight 29-27 lead at the half and clung to a 45-44 advantage with 9:42 to play in regulation. The Cowboys scored back-to-back baskets to take a three-point lead 53 seconds later, but the Privateers responded with a 20-7 run over the next 5:31 and never looked back. The win was the second in a row for New Orleans, which improved to 7-12 on the year and 3-5 in SLC action. McNeese State, meanwhile, saw its two-game winning streak come to an end while falling to 5-13 overall and 3—5 in league play.
 
"It was a great back-and-forth game," UNO head coach Mark Slessinger said. "We had a great run to start the game. They had a good middle run, we had a second comeback and we just kind of warred it out at the end of the first half. In the second half, we were able to get some spark going and got to where were stopped trading baskets and grew the lead a little bit. Defensively, we were able to get our gameplan to where we wanted and kept them from getting going hot from 3. The biggest key was guarding the 3 well against them and not giving up a bunch of offensive rebounds.
 
"They were hot. They were a team that was as hot as a firecracker and won three of their last four. Obviously, [Cowboys head coach] Dave [Simmons] and I are more than opposing coaches. We're great friends and worked together side by side for six years [at Northwestern State]. I love him as a brother. It was just a good Southland Conference game."
 
The Privateers hit just 12 of their 35 shots from the field in the first half (.343), but bounced back after the break to hit 18-of-32 (.563) and finish with a 44.8 field goal percentage (30-of-67). UNO held McNeese State to a .375 clip (24-of-64), held a 50-38 advantage in points in the paint an outscored the Cowboys off the bench, 21-15. In addition, New Orleans out-rebounded McNeese State, 44-38, and turned 13 offensive rebounds into 11 second-chance points.
 
Junior forward Erik Thomas led three Privateers in double figures offensively with 16 points while junior guard Christavious Gill and senior forward Kevin Hill added 15 each. Sophomore forward Travin Thibodeaux pace the squad with a career-high 13 rebounds, Gill and junior guard Nate Frye handed out four assists apiece, and Thomas and Thibodeaux shared team-high steal honors with two thefts each.
 
"It was a great atmosphere," Slessinger said. "My hat goes off to our athletic department staff, the student involvement and the leadership of the alumni office for all of the things they did to help prepare an incredible week. It wasn't just tonight. It was a great week. It was nice to have some former student-athletes back – to have Kentrell Martin back, to have Kyle Buggs back and to have Lovell Cook back in our locker room made it a great day for us on a lot of levels."
 
UNO scored the first three points of the game on a Tevin Broyles layup and a Thomas free throw, but McNeese State answered with six straight points to take an early 6-3 lead.  The Privateers appeared to take control of the game with an 18-4 run midway through the half to go up 23-12 with 9:37 to play before the break, but the Cowboys rallied to tie the game at 25-25 and again at 27-all.
 
A runner by Broyles staked UNO to a two-point lead heading into the locker room and sparked a 6-0 run that spanned both halves as the Privateers led 33-27 just under two minutes into the final stanza. McNeese answered with a 15-4 run over the next 6:07 to take a 42-37 advantage at the 12:10 mark before New Orleans got a 3-point play from Hill, a trey by freshman guard Cameron Reed and a Hill jumper to go up 45-42.
 
The two teams traded blows over the next two minutes and Frye would put UNO for good at 49-48 with a pair of free throws.  A Thomas dunk and a Gill 3-pointer made it a six-point contest at 54-48 with 7:02 to play and McNeese State would not get within a half dozen the rest of the game.
 
"The part that I was excited about for our team from the four-minute mark on was in the huddle, they were talking among each other, emphasizing shot selection, trying to shorten the game up, getting stops and keeping them in front of them," Slessinger added. "They were saying all the coaching points I was thinking to each other. That was kind of neat turning point for me. I think they're turning the corner on the things that are important for us to be able to win the game. They did that intuitively among each other."
 
Craig McFerrin led the Cowboys with a game-high 23 points and complete the contest's lone double-double with 14 rebounds. Jarren Greenwood added 11 points for the McNeese State cause, McFerrin and Jamaya Burr had four assists each and McFerrin led all players with four thefts and a pair of blocked shots.

UNO returns to action on Monday, Feb. 1, when the Privateers close out a three-game homestand at 7 p.m. in Lakefront Arena. Tickets to that 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).