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NEW ORLEANS – NEW ORLEANS – An outstanding Privateer debut from All-Southland Conference guard Jakevion Buckley and lock-down second-half defense powered New Orleans to an 89-76 victory over the Sacramento State Hornets in front of a noisy crowd of more than 1,800 on Saturday afternoon.
In his first 31 minutes on the Lakefront for the Privateers, Buckley scored a team-high 25 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the floor, along with 10 made free throws. Not just a dynamic scorer, the Shelbyville, Texas native also dished out eight assists.
Texas State transfer Coleton Benson made four of his nine 3-point attempts and finished with 14 points in 28 minutes. He was one of five Privateers to knock down a long ball in the Southwest Shootout.
After allowing the Hornets to shoot 51% in the first half, the Privateer defense stepped up in the second half. Sacramento State made just 10 of 29 shots after the break and went 1 of 13 from 3-point range. UNO was strong on the glass in the second half as well, out-rebounding the Hornets 28-17. New Orleans finished with a 42-35 rebounding advantage and a 38-34 edge in the paint.
The Privateer bench outscored Sacramento State 40-16, including a 19-3 margin in the second half. Sophomore MJ Thomas was a perfect 5-of-5 off the bench, finishing with 17 points and a team-high 10 rebounds in just 15 minutes.
Junior TJ Cope and sophomore William Patterson both went 4-for-4 from the floor and added eight points apiece. Cope delivered four highlight-reel dunks in his UNO debut—a two-handed flush over Arman Madi, a one-handed finish over Jeremiah Cherry, and a pair of alley-oops, one from Panagiotis Pagonis and another from Buckley.
Sacramento State was led by Cherry, who shot 11 of 21 and scored 23 points. Prophet Johnson added a team-high nine rebounds for the Hornets.
New Orleans opens its regular season with a trip to Fort Worth, Texas, on Nov. 3 to take on TCU. The game will air live on ESPN+ and locally on Heaven 106.1 FM. Tipoff at Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena is set for 7 p.m.
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