Road Woes Continue As Men's Basketball Falls At Nicholls, 80-76

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THIBODAUX, Louisiana – The frontcourt tandem of senior Kevin Hill and junior Erik Thomas came off the bench to score 30 points and pull down 20 rebounds, but it was not enough as the University of New Orleans men's basketball team dropped an 80-76 decision to Southland Conference foe Nicholls on Monday night in Stopher Gym.
 
The Privateers led 74-72 lead following a three-point play by junior guard Christavious Gill with 2:10 to play only to see the Colonels go ahead on the ensuing possession on a 3-point basket by Quinton Thomas. UNO managed just one basket the rest of the way and Nicholls converted 3-of-4 opportunities from the free throw line over the final 30 seconds to come out on top.
 
The loss was the third in a row for New Orleans, who fall to 9-18 on the year and 5-11 in Southland play. Each of the last three losses came on the road as UNO is now 3-14 away from Lakefront Arena. In addition, it was the Privateers' second straight loss by four points or less and the sixth game decided by five or fewer points this season. Nicholls, meanwhile, snapped a four-game skid to improve to 8-22 overall and 4-12 in conference action.
 
"They played very solid in the second half," UNO head coach Mark Slessinger said of the Colonels. "We took away a lot of the interior post catches in the first half and they got a lot of them over the block or in the paint in the second half. That got their bigs going a little bit offensively and then offensive rebounds turning into points was the difference in the game."
 
As a team, the Privateers connected on 46.3 percent of their field goals (25-of-54) , had 24 points off turnovers and used eight steals to score 15 fast-break points. Nicholls, meanwhile, shot 53.3 percent from the field (32-of-60), including an 18-of-30 showing in the second half (.600). The Colonels held a 44-28 advantage in points in the paint, had 34 rebounds to UNO's 30, and turned 13 offensive boards into 15 second-chance points.
 
Gill led four Privateers in double figures offensively with 19 points, followed by Thomas with 16, Hill with 14 and junior guard Nate Frye with 13. Frye paced the squad with three assists and three steals, and sophomore forward Travin Thibodeaux headlined the unit with eight rebounds.
 
The Privateers scored the first five points of the contest on a layup and 3-pointer by Frye before the Colonels surged with a 9-4 rally to tie the game at the 14:27 mark – the first of six ties over the first 20 minutes of action. With the score knotted at 31-all with 3:59 to play before halftime, Frye broke the deadlock with a pair of free throws to start an 8-3 Privateers rally to end the period. Freshman guard Danny Cohen had a layup and a 3-pointer during the run and UNO headed to the locker room on top, 39-34.
 
UNO stretched the lead to nine at 49-40 just over four minutes into the second half, but Nicholls answered with a 16-7 rally over the next 5:17 tie the score again. The two teams traded the next 12 points and the Colonels took a 63-62 lead on a free throw by Ja'Danté Frye and the Privateers appeared to take control of the contest as Thomas had a layup and a pair of free throws and Gill connected on layup to go ahead 68-63 with 5:28 to go.
 
From there, New Orleans hit just two of its last seven shots and committed three turnovers over the final four and a half minutes. Nicholls took advantage of the Privateer miscues and three of the Colonels final four buckets came after offensive rebounds.
 
T.J. Carpenter had 15 points, seven rebounds and three assists to lead Nicholls in each category. Ja'Danté Frye was next offensively with 13 points while Shane Rillieux, Adam Ward and Liam Thomas with 12, 11 and 10, respectively. Thomas posted eight blocked shots – the most in Nicholls' history – to become the school's career leader in swats with 149.
 
The Privateers return to action on Thursday, March 3, when they play host to Southeastern Louisiana at 7:45 p.m. in Lakefront Arena before closing out the regular season at home against Northwestern State on Saturday, March 5. Both of those home contests are the second half of UNO doubleheaders as the respective schools' women's teams will play prior to the men's contests.
 
Tickets UNO's final two home games of the 2015-16 basketball season and future Privateer sporting events can be purchased by clicking HERE or by calling the UNO Athletics Ticket Office at (504) 280-GAME (4263).