PHOTO GALLERY | POSTGAME
KATY, Texas –
Damion Rosser set a program record for points in a Southland Conference Tournament game with 27, but No. 5 New Orleans fell in heartbreaking fashion to No. 4 Northwestern State 82-79 Thursday evening at the Leonard E. Merrell Center.
Rosser went 10-of-18 from the field and added four assists and four steals in 37 minutes of action.
Down five with 12.3 seconds remaining,
Kmani Doughty drained a corner triple to make it a one-possession game. The Privateers fouled and the Demons missed the second, setting up a potential game-tying shot. Doughty turned the ball over but proceeded to what appeared to be LaTerrance Reed out of bounds, regaining possession for UNO. However, he was ruled out of bounds upon review and NSU escaped with the three-point victory, ending the season with a sour taste.
When asked about the expectations here, head coach
Mark Slessinger was direct.
"When you come and represent our city and the University of New Orleans, the expectation is to win the league every season. I'm so proud of how our guys battled back after starting slow."
FIRST HALF
Northwestern State jumped out to a 16-4 lead with 11:24 remaining in the first, but a quick 8-0 UNO run, highlighted by back-to-back blocks by
Jahmel Myers and
Ahren Freeman cut the deficit to four.
After starting 1-of-13 from the field, UNO caught fire and went into the locker room down just four, 38-34.
Damion Rosser went 5-of-10 for 12 points to go with three assists,
Rodney Carson Jr. added eight points and connected on two three-pointers and four Privateers registered a block.
At the 3:47 mark, the Atlanta connection struck again with
Derek St. Hilaire finding a soaring Rosser for the oop following Freeman's block. It was UNO's third #SCtop10 nominee from Katy and fourth overall following the diving stop in center field by
Issac Williams last night versus LSU.
The Demons surpassed the 50.0 percent clip in both regular season contests against the Privateers, but New Orleans held Northwestern State to 40 percent shooting in the opening stanza.
SECOND HALF
New Orleans came out with a quick 6-0 run to take its first lead of the game with 18:48 remaining. Moments later, NSU regained its lead for a seven-point cushion, but Carson Jr.'s outlet dunk off the St. Hilaire dished began another mini-Privateer run to cut the Demon lead to one.
Following the free throws around the 13:00 mark, Doughty forced another NSU turnover as Kendal Coleman stepped out on the inbounds, marking the third miscue forced by the Brooklyn-born guard.
Northwestern State led by six at the under-12 media and extended its lead before back-to-back Rosser layups, sandwiched by Dame's fourth steal of the game. The layups gave the McDonough, Georgia native 22 points, marking the fifth 20-point game by a Privateer in Katy.
The Demons added to their cushion at the final media of the contest (4:00) with an and-one making it 75-67 NSU.
However, the resilient Privateers would not go away easily as Doughty's three with 12.4 ticks left in regulation made it a one-possession game.
A review moments later gave NSU the ball and the opportunity to run out the clock for the victory.
The Privateers close out the season 10-15 overall and winners of their last six of eight.
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