LAKE CHARLES, La. - New Orleans men's basketball program took down the No. 3 seed Southeastern in an 82-78 Monday night thriller to advance to the Southland Conference tournament semifinal.
Jordan Johnson led with 32 points to mark his ninth game with 20+ points and his second with 30+ points. Johnson also had a season high of 11 made free-throws.
Jamond Vincent had his second consecutive double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds.
Tyson Jackson was also in double-figures for his second straight game with 11 points and five boards.
Two layups and a jumper by Johnson and Vincent put nine on the board for New Orleans to open the game. It was followed by a 11-0 SLU run. At the 10:25 mark,
Khaleb Wilson-Rouse got the steal and found Jackson for the dunk that sparked a 7-0 run for the Privateers. After Johnson tied the game at 20 on a three-pointer, both teams rallied before reaching what would be the final tie in the half at 35. The Privateers went on an 11-6 run to close out the half 36-31.
The Lions quickly cut the deficit to a tied game at 39 at the 17-minute mark in the second. Both teams battled back and forth until Johnson made a critical three-pointer at 6:24 to give New Orleans its first double-digit lead at 64-52 with the largest lead extending to 13 points.
After two layups and a triple from Roger Mcfarlane, the Lions were back within striking range. With six seconds on the clock, Boogie Anderson cashed in on a missed jumper from Mcfarlane to put the Lions within two points. The Privateers inbounded the ball underneath the Lions basket, and a foul by Nick Caldwell gave
Marquez Cooper a chance to put two more points on the board to close out the game 82-78.
New Orleans shot 45% from the field and 77% from the FT line. They outrebounded the Lions 42-33 and had 15 assists.
The Privateers are now 10-6 all-time in the Southland Tournament under Coach Slessinger. They will face the #2 seed Northwestern State in the SLC tournament semifinal tomorrow. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m.
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