Blue (and Silver) Monday: UNO earns conference tourney berth, rolls to win at UIW

SAN ANTONIO – With the good news already disseminated that the New Orleans Privateers had qualified for the Southland tournament, UNO pulled away in the second half to an 88-72 victory over the UIW Cardinals on Monday at the McDermott Center.

The Privateers outscored the Cardinals 43-32 in the second half of the contest while five UNO players landed in double figures in points.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Troy Green led the Privateers with 18 points and added seven rebounds along with four assists. Green went 6-of-8 from the free throw line in the first half.

Damion Rosser added another double-double to his season total and achieved a career high in blocks. Rosser finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds.

Derek St. Hilaire (16), Ahren Freeman (14) and Kmani Doughty (11) also finished with double figures in points. Freeman was a perfect 6-of-6 from the field in 20 minutes of play.

GAME FLOW
The Privateers started 6-of-9 from the field and shot efficiently throughout the night. New Orleans finished 51.7 percent from the floor and was north of 80% from the free throw line in 26 attempts.

A close game through most of the first half started to open up when the Privateers pulled an 11-3 run to extend their lead to nine with just over a minute to go in the first half.

The Privateers led for over 34 minutes and did not trail after the 4:52 mark of the first half.

New Orleans had 17 assists to just nine turnovers. The turnover total was tied for the second lowest this season.

48 points came in the paint for New Orleans. They were plus-20 in that department on the night against the Cardinals.

NEXT UP
The Privateers will host Northwestern State on Wednesday, March 3. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Privateers Clinch Southland Tournament Playoff Spot

Prior to tip-off Monday evening, New Orleans received great news as the Privateers clinched their return to Katy for the 2021 Southland Conference Tournament.

The Privateers seed is yet to be determined, but UNO has reached two championship games in the last five seasons and looks to make another run at postseason gold.

New Orleans is currently sixth at 5-7 (NOTE: SFA is ineligible). With the new format, released by the league earlier today (MORE HERE), the Privateers would play Wednesday, March 8 at 8 p.m. on ESPN+ against the winner of the No. 7 vs. No. 10 matchup if the playoffs began now.

Tickets are available on Ticketmaster. Information on tickets will be available on Southland.org.

The Privateers are currently leading 45-40 at halftime at UIW. New Orleans closes out the regular season at home Wednesday at 7 p.m. (Northwestern State) and Saturday at 7 p.m. (Southeastern).

SOCIAL MEDIA
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