atLAKE CHARLES – The University of New Orleans men's basketball team (2-10, 0-2 Southland) couldn't overcome a slow start against the defending league champions, falling 86-61 to McNeese (7-5, 1-0 Southland) on Saturday afternoon at the Legacy Center.
After having single-digit turnovers against SEC teams Texas and LSU, the Privateers were sloppy with the ball early, committing six turnovers in the first seven minutes of the game. The Cowboys scored six points directly off turnovers and made four of their first seven 3-pointers to take an early 16-3 lead.
After Theo Grant cut the McNeese lead to 26-17 with a layup at the 7:49 mark of the first half, three-pointers from DJ Ricards and Joe Charles sparked a 15-4 McNeese run over the next 5:42 and gave the Cowboys a 23-point lead at halftime.
The Privateers never got any closer than 24 points in an evenly played second half. The Privateers shot 12% better than they did in the first half (34% to 46%), while McNeese shot the ball 12% worse (54% to 42%).
James White recorded his second double-double in two games and third of the season, finishing with 20 points and 10 rebounds. White scored nine of the Privateers' first 15 points and nearly had his double-double before halftime. Saturday afternoon's game was his seventh game this season with 20 or more points, tops in the Southland.
Grant, seeing his first extended action since the Baylor game, matched his career high in points with 15 on 6-of-10 shooting. Luke Davis made his second career start, finishing with four points in 11 minutes of play.
Richards led McNeese in scoring with 21 points on 7-of-15 shooting. Javohn Garcia added 18 and Charles scored 13. Quadi Copeland had a double-double with 11 and 10 assists.
The Privateers will travel to Nashville, Tennessee tomorrow morning for a Monday night matchup with the 11-1 Vanderbilt Commodores. Tipoff at Memorial Gymnasium is set for 7 p.m., with the game airing on ESPN+, SEC Network+ (for cable subscribers), as well as The Ticket 106.1 FM.
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