BEAUMONT – The University of New Orleans men's basketball team (3-14, 1-5 Southland) used a balanced scoring attack to snap its 10-game losing streak with a 68-62 victory over the Lamar Cardinals (9-8, 4-2 Southland) on Monday night in Beaumont.
The Privateers set the tone early in the second half, aggressively attacking the rim. Turk Vincent's layup with just under 14 minutes remaining gave the Privateers a seven-point lead, 50-43. The Cardinals rallied - Andrew Holifield stole the ball from James White and found Ja'Sean Jackson for a three-pointer that tied the game at 50.
An 8-1 run by the Privateers, powered by a pair of Luke Davis layups, allowed UNO to pull away for good. Lamar got as close as four points down the stretch before free throws from Kohen Rowbatham and Hunter sealed the game for New Orleans.
Trailing by 12 (24-12) midway through the first half, three-pointers from Jae Short and Hunter chipped into the Lamar lead. White cut Lamar's lead to five, 35-30, with just under three minutes to play. MJ Thomas' rebound and putback made it a one-score game with 1:42 to go in the half. New Orleans finished the first half with 10 second-chance points.
Lamar's Holifield missed a shot from under the basket before Hunter grabbed the loose ball. Stacy Hollowell called a timeout, and Turk Vincent buried a three from the right corner to send both teams to their respective locker rooms tied at 35.
Hunter led the Privateers with 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting, including a pair of threes. White finished with 11 points and seven rebounds. Thomas pulled down nine rebounds to go with his eight points.
JR Jacobs was effective off the bench, contributing four rebounds and five assists in 14 minutes of action. Vincent added another 11 points off the bench on 5-of-8 shooting – the senior's first game in double figures since the final game of last season against Lamar.
After his career-high nine points and 18 minutes against Southeastern on Saturday, Kohen Rowbatham earned his first career start, replacing Theo Grant. The Metairie native played 35 minutes and set another career high with 10 points. He drew a flagrant foul from Alexis Marmolejos and made a key pair of free throws early in the second half to extend the New Orleans lead.
All eight Privateers who saw action scored. UNO shot 43.3% from the floor and held Lamar to 34.4%. New Orleans outrebounded Lamar 43-37 and won the battle in the paint 38-26.
Danquez Dawsey led the Cardinals with 15 points and three assists, and Alexis Marmolejos finished a point and rebound shy of a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds.
New Orleans returns to action Saturday when it makes the trip to the Field House in Commerce, Texas, for an afternoon matchup with the East Texas A&M Lions (2-15, 0-6 Southland). Tipoff is set for 2:15 p.m. with the game airing on ESPN+ and The Ticket 106.1 FM locally.
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