Men's Basketball To Close Out Home Slate Thursday vs Southeastern Louisiana

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NEW ORLEANS – The University of New Orleans men's basketball team will close out the home portion of the 2016-17 schedule on Thursday, March 2, when the Privateers play host to Southland Conference foe Southeastern Louisiana at 7:45 p.m. in Lakefront Arena.

The game is the second half of a UNO hoops doubleheader as the women's teams from both school will open the day at 5:30 p.m. At 12-4 in SLC action, the Privateers hold a one-game lead in the conference standings with two games left in the regular season. A win over the Lions would give New Orleans at least a share of the 2016-17 Southland Conference crown, and the Privateers can win the conference outright with another win at Nicholls on Saturday in the regular-season finale.

"It's an awesome opportunity for us and a great time to be at home on Thursday," UNO head coach Mark Slessinger said. "We had such a great crowd at last Thursday night's game against Stephen F. Austin, and we hope that just as many people come out and take part in our last regular-season home game and get a taste of what we've done this season and what we can do moving forward. When this building is rocking, it's a fun place to play. We look forward to a fun night against a great competitor that we've enjoyed a great rivalry with since joining this league.

"We're taking this one play at a time. We know that we've got a big-time team coming in here with some incredible players. They're as good of a coached team as there is in this league with Jay Ladner and the job that he's done over and over again. We know our work is going to be cut out for us. It would mean a lot to our community, our University and our alumni base to have success and win a championship, but we've got to take care of business in those first couple of minutes."

The Privateers enter Thursday's home finale 17-10 on the year and looking to bounce back from an 83-82 loss at Northwestern State on Saturday afternoon in Prather Coliseum. The loss to the Demons snapped a five-game winning streak.

As a team, New Orleans is averaging 73.7 points, 35.9 rebounds, 16.1 assists, 8.0 steals and 3.2 blocks per game. Senior forward Erik Thomas leads the Privateers offensively with 20.0 points per game, followed by senior guards Christavious Gill at 11.6 and Nate Frye with a mark of 10.6. Thomas also paces the team with 7.8 rebounds and 1.6 steals a night with junior forward Travin Thibodeaux leading the squad with 3.5 assists per game. 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 705-of-1491 shots from the floor and 123-of-368 tries from beyond the 3-point arc (.334), while allowing opponents to shoot .445 overall (682-of-1532) and .312 from 3-point land (173-of-555). Privateer foes are averaging 70.1 points, 32.0 rebounds, 13.0 assists, 8.6 steals and 3.1 blocks so far in 2016-17.

"We have to play at a high level, we've got to defend at a high level and we've got to rebound at a high level," Slessinger added. "And we have to take good shots. Whenever we've given up good shots for great shots all year, we've had a lot of success. This is a team that it seems like we're in a dogfight with every time we play. That's because they're very, very good. We know we're going to have to come out ready to go right from the start and we're anxious for the opportunity. We've had a great week of preparation. This is a huge game for them as well with a lot of tournament implications going into the last game of the year. We know there's a lot riding on this."

Southeastern Louisiana comes to town 15-15 on the season, 8-9 in Southland action and looking to rebound from a 77-71 loss at Nicholls on Saturday night in Thibodaux, La.

As a team, the Lions are averaging 71.3 points, 36.4 rebounds, 14.5 assists, 6.5 steals and 3.3 blocks per game. Marlain Veal leads the offense with 14.1 points per game while Davon Hayes and Moses Greenwood follow with respective scoring averages of 12.3 and 11.7. Veal also paces the squad in assists and steals with 4.5 dimes and 1.7 thefts per outing while Dominic Nelso headlines the team with 6.6 rebounds and 2.0 blocked shots per game.

Southeastern Louisiana is hitting 45.3 percent of its shots from the field, connecting on 754-of-1665 attempts, including a 204-of-552 showing from beyond the 3-point line (.370). The Lion defense has allowed opponents to post a 42.8 shooting percentage (707-of-1650) and a 34.8 clip from 3-point land (191-of-549) and their foes are averaging 68.2 points, 32.3 rebounds, 11.7 assists, 6.2 steals and 4.0 blocks per game.

"They're explosive offensively," Slessinger said of the Lions. "They've got multiple weapons that can score the ball. Davon Hayes and Marlain Veal are as big of a 1-2 punch as there is in this league. They've got great forwards in the interior that can score a lot of ways. Dimi Cook, Jabbar Singleont, Michael Corchiani – they just keep coming and coming. They have great talent and great depth. We know we're going to have our work cut out for us. They're one of the better defensive teams in our league and they have been all season."

Thursday's game between New Orleans and Southeastern Louisiana marks the 15th meeting between the two teams on the hardwood and the Privateers hold an 11-3 advantage in the all-time series. Since joining the Southland Conference for the 2013-14 campaign, UNO is 5-3 against the Lions, and all three losses coming last season.
New Orleans is 5-1 against Southeastern Louisiana when playing in New Orleans, and the lone loss came last March 3 when the Lions edged the Privateers 61-60, while UNO sports a 6-1 record in Hammond and an 0-1 mark on a neutral court.

Thursday's game is the second of two regular-season meetings between New Orleans and Southeastern Louisiana as the Privateers rallied late for a 60-52 win at the University Center back on Feb. 11.

For tickets to Thursday's 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. For tickets to the upcoming SLC Tournament, which is slated to run from March 8-11 in Katy, Texas, click HERE.