Men's Basketball To Open Second Half Of SLC Slate At Abilene Christian

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ABILENE, Texas – The University of New Orleans men's basketball team will look to start the second half of the Southland Conference schedule the same way it opened the first half – with perhaps a better opening 20 minutes – when the Privateers travel to West Texas to face Abilene Christian on Wednesday, Feb. 1, at 7 p.m. in Moody Coliseum.

The game is the second head-to-head showdown between the Privateers and Wildcats during the 2016-17 regular season and UNO came away from the initial meeting with a 75-66 decision. New Orleans found itself on the wrong end of a 39-30 score at the break before outscoring Abilene Christian, 45-27, in the second half to come out on top.

"We're excited to begin the second half of conference play tomorrow," UNO head coach Mark Slessinger said. "We know how tough a test we will have with Abilene Christian. They are a very difficult matchup for us on multiple levels. They are extremely well coached and we know how tough a place it is to win. I like our team's bounce back in practice from Saturday's game. There was a lot for us to learn from and we will continue to push every day towards our championship goals."

The Privateers head to the Lone Star State, 12-8 on the year, 7-2 in Southland Conference play and looking to bounce back from a 71-61 league loss to Stephen F. Austin on Saturday evening in Nacogdoches, Texas.

As a team, New Orleans is averaging 73.3 points, 35.8 rebounds, 16.3 assists, 8.1 steals and 3.4 blocks per game. Senior forward Erik Thomas leads the Privateers offensively with 19.9 points per game, followed by senior guards Christavious Gill at 11.9 and Nate Frye with a mark of 11.0. Thomas also paces the team with 7.6 rebounds a night with junior forward Travin Thibodeaux leading the squad with 3.6 assists per game. Gill holds team-high steal honors with 1.6 thefts per outing and junior forward Makur Puou headlines the defense with 1.4 blocked shots per contest.

New Orleans is connecting at a .473 clip from the field, hitting 529-of-1118 shots from the floor and 85-of-263 tries from beyond the 3-point arc (.323), while allowing opponents to shoot .446 overall (509-of-1142) and .312 from 3-point land (126-of-404). Privateer foes are averaging 71.5 points, 32.3 rebounds, 13.0 assists, 8.8 steals and 3.1 blocks so far in 2016-17.

Abilene Christian enters the ballgame 8-12 on the season, 2-7 in Southland action and looking to snap a three-game skid after dropping consecutive road contests at Nicholls (62-59 on Jan. 19), Incarnate Word (82-79 on Jan. 26) and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (72-60 on Jan. 28).

As a team, the Wildcats are averaging 68.1 points, 31.2 rebounds, 13.6 assists, 7.5 steals and 3.1 blocks per game. Jaren Lewis leads three ACU student-athletes averaging double figures offensively with a 14.3 point-per-game average while Jalone Friday and Jaylen Franklin follow with respective scoring marks of 14.1 and 10.1. Lewis also paces the team in rebounds and steals with 6.8 boards and 2.2 thefts per outing and Franklin leads the way in assists with 3.6 dimes per contest. Friday headlines the defense with 1.5 blocked shots per outing.

Abilene Christian is hitting 46.4 percent of its shots from the field, connecting on 493-of-1062 attempts, including a 132-of-354 showing from beyond the 3-point line (.373). The Wildcat defense has allowed opponents to post a 44.1 shooting percentage (478-of-1084) and a 32.9 clip from 3-point land (141-of-428) and their foes are averaging 69.9 points, 36.0 rebounds, 13.2 assists, 6.1 steals and 3.5 blocks per game.

Wednesday's game between New Orleans and Abilene Christian marks just the fifth meeting between the two teams on the hardwood and the Privateers hold a 3-1 advantage in the all-time series. Like the upcoming contest, all four previous head-to-head outings have come since the schools joined the Southland Conference for the 2013-14 season.

Home court advantage has played a major role in the series to date as UNO is 3-0 against ACU in Lakefront Arena with an 87-81 win on Jan. 9, 2014, a 75-55 victory on Feb. 28, 2015, and the league-opening contest for both teams earlier this season. The Privateers are 0-1 in Moody Coliseum after falling 87-84 last Feb. 27.

Following the game against the Wildcats, the Privateers return to action on Saturday, Feb. 4, when they play host to Nicholls in Lakefront Arena. The men's game is the second half of a UNO basketball doubleheader as the two school's women's programs will play at 2 p.m. as part of Homecoming 2017. For tickets to that game, as well as future New Orleans Athletics events, contact the UNO Athletics Ticket Office over the phone at (504) 280-GAME (4263) or via the Internet by clicking HERE.