BOX SCORE | PHOTOS | SLESSINGER POSTGAME | TEAM POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE | D'ANTE BELL DUNK | JAHMEL MYERS DUNK
KATY, Texas – The Privateers continued to be one of the hottest teams in the country, winning their fourth consecutive game and six of the last seven as the No. 5 seed New Orleans eliminated No. 8 Southeastern Louisiana 80-63 Wednesday evening at the Leonard E. Merrell Center. The game was a second round contest in the 2021 Hercules Tires Southland Conference Men's Basketball Tournament.
New Orleans advances to take on No. 4 Northwestern State Thursday at 5 p.m. on ESPN+. The Privateers and Demons split the regular season series, with UNO taking the March 3 meeting.
The intensity was there from the tip for UNO as the Privateers did not trail in this game, something head coach
Mark Slessinger continues to be proud of.
"Their effort, attitude and selflessness were on full display. We are committed to playing team basketball and pass on a good shot for a great shot." Indeed, the Privateers did as UNO shot 60 percent from the floor, 68 percent in the second half.
Derek St. Hilaire posted a team-high 20 points to go with four rebounds and two assists and
Damion Rosser added 15 points, five rebounds and two assists. St. Hilaire's 20 points marked the fourth 20-point game by a Privateer in the Southland Tournament (Katy).
Troy Green added 11 points and five rebounds, and Rodney Carson Jr. and Ahren Freeman recorded 10 points apiece.
FIRST HALF
The Privateers began with the Georgia connection as Rosser found St. Hilaire for the oop and the game's first points.
It was all UNO early as the Privateers took a 13-4 cushion following Carson Jr's steal and breakaway dunk at the 15:44 mark.
An 11-2 UNO run made it 28-12 Privateers with D Saint taking over. The first-year Privateer posted 16 points in the first with 12 coming from three-point range. Rosser added 11 points.
New Orleans took a 38-22 lead into the locker room. UNO shot 52.2 percent from the field in the first and limited the Lions to 30.4 percent shooting and did not trail in the stanza. UNO also forced nine Southeastern turnovers.
SECOND HALF
The offense continued to highlight with a few more highlight-reel dunks, this time by
D'Ante Bell and
Jahmel Myers. The Privateers went 15-of-22 in the second half.
The Rosser dunk with 13:14 remaining made it 56-36 UNO and in the closing minutes, Myers put the stamp on the victory with a dunk over the 7-2 Southeastern center.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans are encouraged to follow
@PrivateersMBB on Twitter,
@PrivateersMBB on Instagram, like
/PrivateersMBB on Facebook and subscribe to the
PrivateerAthletics YouTube channel.
