NEW ORLEANS – The University of New Orleans (1-3) jumped out to a 22 point lead and did not look back though Spring Hill College (2-2) cut the lead to single digits in the 74-67 victory Friday afternoon at Lakefront Arena. The Privateers gave the home crowd a beautiful display in the first half, shooting 61.5 percent from the floor en route to a 40-20 lead and ultimately, dished out 18 assists on 22 field goals in the home opening win.
Travin Thibodeaux led the club with 13 points and five assists and
Makur Puou and
Michael Zeno reached double figures with 11 and 12, respectively.
Troy Green came off the bench with nine points – all from the charity stripe – four assists and three steals.
Diontae Champion added six points and two dimes and
Bryson Robinson finished with nine points and two assists.
FIRST HALF
The opening frame was all UNO as the Privateers shot 61.5 percent from the floor to take a 40-20 lead into the break.
Zeno led all players with eight points on 4-of-7 shooting and Robinson came off the bench with seven. New Orleans was selfless with 13 assists on 16 field goals and defensively, held the Badgers to 28.6 percent shooting with six steals and three blocks.
New Orleans jumped out to an 11-0 lead before a Badger free throw gave Spring Hill its first point of the ballgame at the 15:06 mark.
SECOND HALF
The Badgers cut the deficit with a hot second stanza, going 18-of-31 from the field. The lead that was once 22 was cut to single digits but the Privateers closed out the game with clutch free throws to take their first win of the season, 74-67.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
The UNO bench outscored Spring Hill's 30-to-12 but the Badgers took the edge with 14 second chance points to the Privateers' five.
Three players reached double figures, led by Thibodeaux's 13 and his five assists were a game-high. Green came off the bench with nine points, four assists and three steals in 19 minutes of action and all nine of his points came from the charity stripe.
Spring Hill featured three double digit scorers, led by Brandon Fischer's 17 points and nine boards. The Badgers connected on six triples.
Charles Bohannon made his Privateer debut in the closing seconds of the ballgame.
NEXT UP
New Orleans closes out the week at South Alabama Sunday at 3:05 p.m.
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