NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Privateers men's basketball team got 32 points from the bench and withstood a belated Texas A&M-Corpus Christi rally for a 68-58 triumph on Saturday at the Lakefront Arena. With the win, the Privateers moved to 9-4 in Southland play.
Gerrale Gates scored a team-high 14 points and went 9-of-10 from the free throw line. Defensively, Gates added three blocks.
Troy Green posted 13 points in 29 minutes off the pine and
Jahmel Myers chipped in with eight boards. As a unit, the Privateers went 20-of-24 from the free throw line. It was the seventh time this season the Privateers made at least 20 free throws.
FIRST HALF
It was a back and forth battle through the first 4:30. That was when the first of two big runs came for the Privateers. A 10-2 surge pushed New Orleans ahead 15-9. The Islanders came back to tie the game at 17-all on a three-point play converted from Elijah Schmidt.
Shortly after that, the Privateers dealt another spurt that was fueled by Myers. The freshman drove to the basket, converted a layup, and got hacked. After sinking the free throw, the Privateers hit two quick threes to extend their lead to nine. The advantage remained nine at the halftime break with New Orleans leading 32-23.
UNO forced 10 turnovers in the first half and got 17 of their 32 first half points from the bench. New Orleans also made the most of their free throw trips by converting eight of nine in the first 20 minutes.
SECOND HALF
Early fireworks were provided when Gates hit his first three-pointer of the season on an inbound pass by
Damion Rosser as the shot clock expired. The Privateers led by as much as 15 and were in command for most of the half.
The Islanders had one more shot to fire down the stretch. The Privateer lead closed to six at the 2:09 mark when Rosser was ejected from the game on a flagrant two. Jake Babic came off the bench to hit both free throws. However, the Islanders gave away a chance to cut the lead further on an offensive foul which came in the ensuing possession.
The game did get to within one possession in the final minute, but the Privateers got big plays down the stretch. A fast break layup by Myers off a long inbound pass from Gates made the score 63-58 with 37 seconds remaining. New Orleans sunk their free throws in the final seconds to seal the victory as Gates went three-of-four from the charity stripe.
New Orleans shut down the three-point line for the game. The Islanders went just 2-of-14 from downtown and did not hit a long range shot in six second half attempts.
NEXT UP
The Privateers remain at home for a midweek battle with the Southeastern Lions. Tip is slated for 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 20.
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