NEW ORLEANS – The University of New Orleans (0-1) got off to a strong start in the first half before a barrage of three-pointers from Kansas State (1-0) ultimately allowed the Wildcats to pull away, 89-65, on Tuesday night at Bramlage Coliseum.
JR Jacobs got the new era of Privateer basketball off to the perfect start after burying a straightaway three on UNO's opening possession. New Orleans would continue to have early success both attacking the basket and making four of its first five threes. After
Jah Short made a pair of free throws,
MJ Thomas flew down the floor – appearing from almost nowhere – to block a Max Jones layup before making a floater on the other end giving New Orleans a 25-15 lead with 10:15 to play in the first half.
David N'Guessan and Kansas State slowly clawed their way back into the game with a series of second chance baskets. The KSU big man knocked down a three-pointer with 6:07 to play in the first having giving the Wildcats a 28-27 lead, just their second of the contest. After
Luke Davis lost the ball Brendan Hausen knocked down his third three-pointer in a row with 3:08 to play in the first half giving Kansas State its largest lead 37-29.
Leading 44-32 at the half, the Wildcats opened the second half with a 19-9 run to seal the victory. Their hot three-point shooting continued with makes by Max Jones, Hausen, David Castillo, Coleman Hawkins, and CJ Jones extending the Wildcat lead.
Dae Dae Hunter had a strong second half for New Orleans, coming off the bench to score 10 points on 3-of-6 shooting with a pair of rebounds in 15 minutes of play. His lone three-pointer cut the Kansas State lead to 18, the closest UNO got in the latter stages.
The difference in the game was rebounding, second chance points, and three-point shooting. Using a distinct size advantage, the Wildcats outrebounded the Privateers 45-35 and pulled down 19 offensive rebounds leading to a 22-12 advantage in second chance points. They made 13 three-pointers to UNO's nine.
Short finished with 19 points, a new career high, on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor. White finished with 14 points and a team leading eight rebounds. Kansas State was led by N'Guessan who finished with 21 points and 15 rebounds. Jones finished with 19 points and four made triples, while Hausen finished with 17 points and four made triples.
Ten Privateers made their debuts tonight: White played 34 minutes,
MJ Thomas played 23 minutes,
Kerwin Prince played 17 minutes,
Dae Dae Hunter played 15 minutes and scored 10 second half points,
Luke Davis and
Theo Grant each played six minutes
Kohen Rowbatham played five minutes,
Leland Coleman played three minutes, and
Grant Kemp and
Jackson Sowards both got a minute of action.
New Orleans returns to the court on Saturday, Nov. 9 at 4:00 p.m. for a homecoming matchup against the Troy Trojans at Lakefront Arena. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with a free audio stream on UNOPrivateers.com.
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL
Keep up to date with everything New Orleans Privateers Men's Basketball. Follow @PrivateersHoops on both
Twitter/X, and
Instagram, like /
PrivateersHoops on Facebook and subscribe to the
UNOPrivateers YouTube channel.
