CORPUS CHRISTI, Tx.-New Orleans men's basketball program (6-10, SLC 3-2) was unable to answer to Texas A&M Corpus Christi's (11-7, SLC 4-1) lights out shooting in a 97-79 loss at the American Bank Center Saturday afternoon.
The Privateers, at 50% shooting from the field, struggled to guard the Islanders, led by Trevian Tennyson, who shot 66% from the arc at 16-of-24 and scored 25 points off Privateer turnovers.
New Orleans pushed the pace and took command in the first ten minutes of the game but gave up a 20-16 lead mostly at the hand of 12 turnovers. The Islanders then went on a 30-13 run to close out a 49-33 half that saw Tennyson to 21 points.
Though the Privateers shot better from the field in the second half with 56% at 16-28, they were outdone at the charity stripe with 9 of 18 compared to 11 of 17 on the Islanders' end. A&M Corpus Christi also won the battle of the boards 17-15 in the second half and 39-28 overall. New Orleans closed a gap as large as 24 down to 17 points but just didn't have enough steam to overtake A&M Corpus Christi on their home court.
Four Privateers recorded double figures. Jordan Johnson, who got going well into the second half, led in scoring with 17 points, four rebounds and five assists. Khaleb Wilson-Rouse had a great night offensively with 16 points and four rebounds. Simeon Kirkland, who led the Privateers into the second half, recorded 13 points and 10 rebounds, his second double-double of the season. Tyson Jackson got into foul trouble early in the first half but still contributed 12 points at 4-of-4 from the field.
NEXT UP: The Privateers look forward to an important home-game stint where they will face Texas A&M Commerce Thursday, Jan. 19 and Northwestern State Saturday, Jan. 21.
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