Privateers blow past former conference rival UCA, 90-63

NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Privateers blew the lid off a close game in the second half and pulled away to a 90-63 victory over the Central Arkansas Bears on Wednesday afternoon during the first day of the UNO Classic.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The second half belonged exclusively to the Privateers after the score got close at halftime.

New Orleans started with a 7-0 run out of the locker room in the first 1:42 of the second half. The barrage continued along with the lockdown defense. New Orleans allowed just eight points to the Bears in the first 10 minutes of the half. By the end of that span, the Privateers were up 62-41 and in the driver’s seat.

For the second half, New Orleans shot 66.7% from the field and they outscored the Bears 55-30 over the last 20 minutes. Their 54% shooting from the field is the highest in their five games this season.

The Privateers led for the entirety of the first half and were up by as many as 14 points. New Orleans got great production from the bench in the opening 20 minutes with 21 of the team’s 35 points. However, Central Arkansas ripped off a 14-2 run to close the Privateer lead to just 35-33 at halftime.

In that stretch, Central Arkansas went 6-of-10 from the field while the Privateers had seven missed shots and four turnovers.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Derek St. Hilaire paced the scoring with 22 points in 27 minutes. Troy Green finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Daniel Sackey (13) and Tyson Jackson (11) joined the Privateers who finished with double figures. Rodney Carson Jr. finished with nine points and was a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line.

FROM COACH SLESS
I’m so proud of their maturity and how hard they played in the weeks leading up to this. We showed great resolve and I’m so happy to see it pay off today.

I think we got a chance to see the depth we have with our team today. Troy had maybe one of his best defensive games since he’s been here. Daniel gave us a huge spark in the first half and we were relentless with our forwards. I’m proud of everyone across the board and everyone gave us a great contribution.

NEXT UP
The Privateers will take on Presbyterian on Thanksgiving Day. Tip is scheduled for 1 p.m.

SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans are encouraged to follow @UNOPrivateers on Twitter, @PrivateersMBB on Instagram, like /PrivateersMBB on Facebook and subscribe to the PrivateerAthletics YouTube channel.