NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans men's basketball program overcame a 15-point deficit over the final 26 minutes of play to force two overtimes, but McNeese was able to get the best of the Privateers in the final frame as the Cowboys collected a 92-82 victory in the opening round game for both teams at the 2022 Southland Tipoff Tournament in Katy, Texas on Thursday afternoon.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: New Orleans – 82, McNeese – 92 (2OT)
LOCATION: Leonard E. Merrell Center – Katy, Texas
RECORDS: New Orleans 4-8 (0-0 SLC), McNeese 5-9 (0-0 SLC)
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
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Derek St. Hilaire led the way with a team-high 17 points to go along with three rebounds, two steals and a block.
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Troy Green contributed a solid day across the board as he finished with 15 points (which includes a mark of 11-of-13 from the charity stripe), five rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal. Green's 11 made free throws were the most by a Privateer since he made 10 against A&M-Corpus Christi in February of 2021.
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Daniel Sackey was a force on the offensive end as he dropped 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting. He also chipped in six rebounds, three assists and a steal.
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Simeon Kirkland posted his second double-double of the season as he recorded an even 12 points to go with 12 boards. He joins
Jahmel Myers as the only current Privateers with more than one career double-double. Kirkland also set a new career-high with three blocks.
- De'Sean All-Eikens added nine points off the bench as he went 4-of-6 from the field. He also had six boards and a block.
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Jahmel Myers was also effective in a limited role as he chipped in four points and seven rebounds in 15 minutes of play.
- UNO finished with 48 points in the paint and 17 fast break points.
- Despite McNeese leading for a large portion of the game, the Privateers second-half charge made sure that the contest was a back-and-forth affair that featured six times that the scored was tied and seven lead changes.
- Today's game was the longest for the Privateers since a 96-94 triple-overtime victory against NJIT back on Jan. 21, 2013.
- New Orleans is now 7-6 all-time at the Merrell Center.
- This afternoon's contest, along with the other remaining two games for New Orleans in the Tipoff Tourney, will not count in the conference standings.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- McNeese jumped out to a fast start and held a 36-22 lead through the first 14 minutes of the opening half.
- New Orleans was able to close the gap to 11 as the Cowboys took a 42-31 lead into the half.
- UNO went on a charge to open the second half on a 17-7 run to cut the deficit to 49-48 with 10:26 left to play.
- The two teams would continue to trade a few points back and forth before a Sackey driving layup tied the game at 52 with 8:53 in the second.
- McNeese then answered the New Orleans comeback attempt on a 18-13 run of its own over the next 7:06 to jump out to a 70-65 advantage.
- Sackey hit a jumper to cut the McNeese lead to three with 1:30 left in the second.
- After the Cowboys went 1-of-2 at the line, St. Hilaire hit a difficult up and under shot to cut the lead to just two with 50 seconds on the clock.
- A missed McNeese layup was followed by a St. Hilaire fast break finish to tie the game with 32 seconds left.
- The Privateers defense would hold and the game went to the first overtime.
- The two teams played an even, back-and-forth opening overtime with each team scoring eight points to force OT No. 2.
- McNeese ended the game on a 13-3 run to collect the 92-82 double overtime victory.
NEXT UP
It will be a quick turnaround for the Privateers as the group gets ready to face HBU in the second round of the Southland Tipoff Tournament on Friday, Jan. 7 at 11 AM CT. The game will be played in front of a national audience on ESPN+.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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