St. Hillaire leads dominant UNO win over UIW

NEW ORLEANS – Derek St. Hilaire went off for 17 points in the first half of a career night as the New Orleans Privateers (2-9, 1-2) coasted to an 86-64 win over the UIW Cardinals (4-5, 1-1) on Saturday evening at the Lakefront Arena.

The Privateers were highly efficient in the first half and even better in the second half. New Orleans connected on 57.7 percent of their field goals in the first 20 minutes and went 20-for-28 (71.4 percent) in the second half.

STATISTICAL LEADERS
St. Hilaire hit three triples in the first half and made 9-of-12 field goals to account for his 21 points. Damion Rosser and Troy Green also landed in double figures with 18 points each. The duo also co-led the squad in rebounds with seven.

HOW IT HAPPENED
-The Privateers’ defense was on lock early as they held UIW without a point for the first 3:40 of the game.
-St. Hilaire scored 11 of the Privateers’ first 20 points and added an assist in his first six minutes.
-New Orleans built a 26-14 lead at the 7:20 mark of the first half and hit 11-of-20 shots in that span.
-At the halftime break, New Orleans was in complete command with a 40-25 lead and a big part was the pressure defense that forced 14 UIW turnovers.
-At the outset of the second half, the Privateers maintained their advantage through the first media timeout by scoring on four of their first six possessions.
-The largest lead at any point for the Privateers was 25 at the 10:31 mark of the second half. New Orleans never trailed on the night.

NOTABLES
-Green and Rosser have both scored in double figures nine times this season.
-Saturday was the first game where the Privateers shot over 60 percent from the field since Spring Hill (11/5/19)
-Rashad Holmes made his Privateer debut with 1:11 left in the game. Bol Tong made his first field goal as a Privateer with 1:07 remaining.
-Southland leading rebounder, Marcus Larsson of UIW went down with an injury in the first half and did not return.

NEXT UP
New Orleans will face McNeese on Saturday, Jan. 16 at the Lakefront Arena. Tip is scheduled for 6 p.m.