Men's Basketball To Host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi On 'Senior Night'

NEW ORLEANS – The University of New Orleans men's basketball team will look to get back on track while honoring a pair of its own on Monday, Feb. 15, when the Privateers play host to Southland Conference foe Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on 'Senior Day' in Lakefront Arena.
 
Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the team will hold a special ceremony for seniors Travis Avery and Kevin Hill prior to the ballgame. New Orleans enters the upcoming game, 8-14 on the year, 4-7 in Southland Conference action and looking to snap a two-game skid after falling 112-77 at Central Arkansas on Feb. 6 and dropping an 87-76 decision at McNeese State on Feb. 11.
 
As a team, the Privateers are averaging 73.5 points, 38.0 rebounds, 14.0 assists, 8.5 steals and 2.7 blocks per game. Junior guard Christavious Gill leads a balanced UNO offense with 13.7 points per game while junior forward Erik Thomas, senior forward Kevin Hill and junior guard Nate Frye follow with respective scoring averages of 11.2, 9.5 and 9.4. Thomas paces the team with 6.9 rebounds per game and both Hill and sophomore forward Travin Thibodeaux headline the defense with 0.7 blocked shot per outing apiece. Frye leads the Privateers with 3.3 assists per game and Gill has a team-best 2.0 steals-per-contest average.
 
New Orleans is connecting at a .412 clip from the field, hitting 550-of-1334 shots from the floor and 115-of-334 tries from beyond the 3-point arc (.344), while allowing opponents to shoot .444 overall (55-of-1260) and .331 from 3-point land (156-of-472). Privateer foes are averaging 75.9 points, 38.4 rebounds, 14.6 assists, 7.8 steals and 5.2 blocks so far in 2015-16.
 
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, meanwhile, comes to town 18-6 on the year, 9-3 in Southland Conference play and looking to bounce back from a 70-58 loss to Stephen F. Austin on Saturday night in Nacogdoches, Texas.
 
As a team, the Islanders are averaging 7.36 points, 35.9 rebounds, 13.3 assists, 9.9 steals and 5.3 blocks per game. Rashawn Thomas is one of four TAMUCC players to average double figures offensively, leading the team with a 17.8 point-per-game clip, followed by Brandon Pye at 10.8, Bryce Douvier at 10.2 and Hameed Ali at 10.0. Thomas also paces the squad with 8.6 rebounds and 2.6 blocked shots per game. Ali headlines the squad with 5.7 assists and 2.8 steals per outing.
 
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi is hitting 43.2 percent of its shots from the field, connecting on 607-of-1406 field goal attempts, including a 155-of-465 showing from beyond the 3-point line (.333). The Islanders' defense has allowed opponents to post a 40.6 shooting percentage (532-of-1311) and a 33.2 clip from 3-point land (160-of-482). Corpus Christi opponents are averaging 69.1 points, 36.0 rebounds, 11.7 assists, 6.6 steals and 2.3 blocks per game.
 
Monday's game between New Orleans and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi marks the 13 meeting between the two teams on the hardwood and the all-time series is tied at six wins apiece.
 
UNO has lost the last four games to the Islanders, each of which came over the last season and a half. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi escaped Lakefront Arena with a 71-67 overtime victory last Jan. 24, won a 55-53 contest in Corpus later on Feb. 16, and ended the Privateers' 2014-15 season with a 61-58 victory in the Southland Conference Tournament Quarterfinals last March 12 in Katy, Texas. Earlier this year, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi handed UNO a 97-76 loss on Jan. 23 at the American Bank Center.
 
The Privateers are 4-1 against the Islanders in New Orleans with the lone blemish coming last season. Prior to that defeat, UNO posted wins of 84-70 on Dec. 19, 1970, 1-8-90 on Dec. 18, 1971, and 98-95 on Dec. 9, 1972. UNO is 1-1 against Corpus Christi in Lakefront Arena courtesy of a 77-63 win on Feb. 26, 2003.
 
Following the game against the Islanders, UNO will play its next four games on the road before returning to Lakefront Arena on March 3 to take on Southeastern Louisiana. In between, the Privateers will play at Northwestern State on Feb. 20, at Southeastern Louisiana on Feb. 23, at Abilene Christian on Feb. 27 and at Nicholls on Feb. 29. In addition to the home game against SLU, New Orleans will also play Northwestern State in Lakefront Arena on March 5.
 
Tickets to UNO's remaining home 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).