Men's Hoops Wins Thriller At Northwestern State, 102-99

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NATCHITOCHES, Louisiana – As the game unfolded on Saturday afternoon in Prather Coliseum, the tension in the building more resembled a two-hour viewing of open-heart surgery than a college basketball game. While there were several "hold  your breath" moments, the biggest exhale came as the final horn sounded as the University of New Orleans defeated Southland Conference foe Northwestern State, 102-99.

A back-and-forth first half turned into a 12-point Privateer lead midway through the second half but the two teams found themselves deadlocked at 96-all with 2:08 left to play. Senior forward Kevin Hill sandwiched a layup and a pair of free throws around a single shot from the charity stripe by the Demons' Sabri Thompson to stake UNO to a 100-97 advantage. Northwestern State made it a one-point game on a bucket by Bailey Walker before junior forward Erik Thomas sank a pair from the charity stripe to account for what proved to be the final score.

Those free throws, however, came with 11.5 seconds and Northwestern State had one last opportunity to send the game to overtime. The Demons raced the ball up the court following the ensuing inbounds and Thompson's 3-point try bounced off the front of the rim and junior guard Christavious Gill secured the rebound as time expired to spark the Privateer celebration.

The victory snapped a three-game skid as UNO improves to 9-15 overall and 5-8 in Southland action. It was also the Privateers' first win over Northwestern State since joining the league for the 2013-14 season and gave head coach Mark Slessinger – who served as an assistant at NSU from 2000-11 – his first win over his former team.

"This is a special place for me and my family," Slessinger said. "We lived here for over a decade and we made a lot of friends, but this was a great win for our team. It wasn't about me or about any of that. It's about Danny Cohen coming home and getting a win. It's about Christavious Gill, from 40 miles down the road in Alexandria, coming home and getting a win and sticking free throws down the stretch.

"I was proud of the way our guys stepped up to shoot [free throws] with confidence. They had great confidence in one another and played a fantastic game. It was a big night for us. The guys worked their tail off all week to prepare for the opportunity and they answered the bell."

Thomas paced five Privateers in double figures offensively with a season-best 18 points and completed a double-double with a team-leading 11 rebounds. Sophomore forward Travin Thibodeaux added a career-high 17 points and the trio of Gill, junior guard Nate Frye and freshman guard Cameron Reed added 14 each. Frye led New Orleans with four assists and three steals while sophomore wing Michael Zeno posted the team's lone blocked shot.

Both teams shot in the mid-40s as UNO posted a 46.7 field goal percentage (35-of-75) and Northwestern State connected at a .432 clip (32-of-74). The Privateers held a 47-42 rebounding advantage and outscored the Demons in the paint, 52-42.

UNO scored the first points of the contest on a Thibodeaux dunk and the Privateers held a 10-6 advantage 3:06 into the ballgame. The Demons answered with a 13-4 run over the next 3:29 to go up by five and the back-and-forth battle was on. Northwestern State held a 39-35 advantage with 5:34 to play in the first half but UNO outscored the home team 16-9 the rest of the half to go into the locker room on top, 51-48.

The Privateers opened the second half with a 9-0 run to go ahead, 60-48, and maintained a 12-point lead at 73-61 with 11:10 left in regulation. New Orleans was able to stave off several NSU rallies through the middle portion of the stanza before the Demons tied the contest at 82-82 with 6:45 remaining on the clock. A 3-pointer by Reed quickly put the Privateers back on top and that was the way it went down the stretch as UNO never trailed at any point over the final 20 minutes.

"We always talk about character getting revealed in tough situations," Slessinger added. "Christavious Gill…had a rough night from the field but steps up to the line and drains 12 out of 14 and just played his heart out. Kevin Hill came off the bench and had a massive effort. Erik Thomas was 6-for-7 from the free throw line, including the game winners, and Travin Thibodeaux had a monster game. The resiliency of our team to take coaching and receive the messages we're giving them on how we can turn this thing around and get back on the right track is amazing."

Zeek Woodley led Northwestern State with 28 points and Ishmael Lane was next offensively with 20 points will leading all players with 12 rebounds. Walker added 17 points and Thompson finished with 15. Thompson, Woodley and Walker shared team-high assist honors with three each and Woodley paced NSU with three steals.

The game at Northwestern State was the first of a four-game road swing for the Privateers as UNO will play at Southeastern Louisiana on Feb. 23, at Abilene Christian on Feb. 27 and at Nicholls on Feb. 29. From there, New Orleans will close out the regular season with home contests against Southeastern Louisiana and Northwestern State on March 3 and 5, respectively.

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).