Privateers Falter in Home Finale

The Privateers completed a winless season at Lakefront Arena with a come-from-ahead loss to East Texas A&M, 73-71.

New Orleans trailed early in a turnover-plagued first half but took the lead on a Luke Davis layup at 21-20. The Privateers (4-25, 2-16) continued that roll into the second half, building as much as a 15-point lead before the Lions came roaring back to tie the game on a Yusef Salih three at 56-56.

From that point, the Privateers surged ahead behind the stellar play of star freshman M.J. Thomas, who posted a monster game with 16 points and 18 rebounds. But they fumbled away a 71-61 lead, and at 71-70 with seconds to go, E-TAMU's K.C. Ugwuakazi stole an inbounds pass and laid in the go-ahead bucket to doom the Privateers yet again. The Lions scored the final 12 points of the contest.

Thomas led a dominant Privateer effort on the glass, as UNO won the rebounding battle 50-31. J.R. Jacobs contributed 14 points and 7 assists.

UNO will conclude the season with a two-game road swing at UT-Rio Grande Valley and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Saturday and next Monday, respectively.

Demons' Fast Start Dooms UNO

The Privateers fought hard but could not overcome a massive early deficit in a 73-66 loss to Northwestern State at Lakefront Arena.

After posting the first five points of the game, UNO (4-24, 2-15) surrendered a 21-0 run to the visiting Demons, a hole from which they could never recover. They trailed by as many as 21 and were down 39-24 at the half, and while they clawed to within 6 in the waning moments, they could get no closer.

The New Orleans offensive attack was led by Kohen Rowbatham with 20 points. Luke Davis continued his late-season offensive surge, contributing 17 points. M.J. Thomas had a well-rounded evening with 11 points, 8 rebounds, 4 steals, and 3 assists. Northwestern State's Micah Thomas led all scorers with 23 points.

The Privateers shot just 37% as a team, while the Demons converted 12 out of 23 three-point attempts.

UNO will get one last chance to win a home game on Monday night against struggling East Texas A&M, a team the Privateers defeated on the road earlier this season.

UNO Takes 2 of 3 from BC

On Friday night, the Privateers got a clutch 2-RBI single from Bryan Loriga in the seventh inning to retake the lead against Boston College, 5-4. In the top of the frame, UNO had surrendered a 3-1 lead and fallen behind 4-3.

Sawyer Toney and Bryce Calloway made that lead hold up with a scoreless 8th and 9th in relief, and the Privateers hung on.

The first game of Saturday's doubleheader wasn't nearly that close. The visiting Eagles out of the ACC took a lead early and were never threatened, coasting to an 11-3 win. Zach Longshore struggled in his second start, and despite another three hits from Loriga, the New Orleans offense could never get going.

The Privateers (3-3) got a better outcome in the nightcap. While they blew a 5-0 lead and fell behind on a BC ninth inning solo shot, a clutch two-out single from Collin Loupe tied it in the bottom of the ninth, and then Jahlani Rogers was plunked with the bases loaded in the 11th to secure a 7-6 UNO win.

Privateers Fall to Nicholls

The Privateers dropped their ninth in a row, and remained winless for the season at Lakefront Arena, in a 78-62 loss to Nicholls on Monday night.

The Colonels broke open a close game with a late 8-0 run to open up a double digit lead at the half. New Orleans (4-23, 2-14) fell behind by as many as 21 in the second half before using their own 15-1 run to get as close as 56-50. The Colonels, though, clamped down defensively down the stretch to hang on for the victory.

New Orleans outrebounded Nicholls for the game on the strength of M.J. Thomas' astounding 17 rebounds as well as Luke Davis' 11. Both Thomas and Davis turned in double-doubles. However, the Privateers shot just 36% as a team.

UNO will have two more chances to win on the lakefront, the first of which will come this Saturday against Northwestern State.

McNeese Drubs Privateers; 8th Straight Loss

After a competitive first 12 minutes, McNeese took control and handed the Privateers their eighth consecutive loss, beating New Orleans 78-64 at Lakefront Arena on Saturday.

UNO (4-22, 2-13) played a feisty first half, actually taking a 22-21 lead at the under-8 timeout. From that point on, the visiting Cowboys ripped off a 21-3 run before the break and never looked back, though the Privateers did use a 13-0 second half run to briefly pull back within single digits.

Leland Coleman led New Orleans with 15 points, while Kohen Rowbatham and J.R. Jacobs added 14 each.

The Privateers will again try to notch their first home win of the 2024-25 season on Monday night against Nicholls. UNO lost to the Colonels at Stopher Gym 73-70 earlier this season.

HCU Completes Sweep of Privateers

The Privateers went down to their sixth consecutive defeat at Houston Christian by an 81-68 score on Saturday afternoon.

HCU led almost wire-to-wire, only trailing very early and controlling the game throughout. Julian Mackey and Bryson Dawkins led the Huskies charge, with Mackey notching 27 points and Dawkins 22. While New Orleans (4-20, 2-11) actually outrebounded HCU and shot 52%, the difference was the longball, with HCU draining 17 threes while shooting a blistering 43% from deep.

The Privateers were led by M.J. Thomas, who turned in another double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Kohen Rowbatham and Leland Coleman added 13, while Theo Grant chipped in 11.

The Privateers will stay in Texas and take on Incarnate Word in San Antonio on Monday night.

SFA Beats UNO on Halfcourt Heave

The depleted Privateers, holding an 11-point lead with 2 1/2 minutes left, fumbled away the victory, falling to Stephen F. Austin in overtime, 88-85 at Lakefront Arena.

New Orleans (4-19, 2-10), playing without its four suspended starters for the second straight game, had a late-game meltdown reminiscent of the Lindenwood and Tulane victories, games in which they held double-digit leads very late only to barely escape with a win. This time, however, the Privateer defense continued its collapse into overtime, and they were unable to recover. J.R. Jacobs' howitzer tied the game at 85 from deep, but SFA's Matt Hayman banked in a shot from beyond halfcourt at the buzzer to get the win.

Kohen Rowbatham led the UNO charge with 28 points. The Privateer attack was fairly balanced, with Leland Coleman adding 21 and Theo Grant 18. Coleman also led the UNO rebounding attack with 11 boards, notching a double-double, and Jacobs dished out an astounding 16 assists.

New Orleans next travels to Houston Christian for a road game on Saturday.

Shorthanded Privateers Fall in Hammond

Freshman M.J. Thomas

Playing without four starters due to suspensions, the Privateers (4-18, 2-9) dropped a 76-68 decision at Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday.

With James White, Jah Short, Turk Vincent, and Dae Dae Hunter all sidelined for violating team rules, New Orleans dressed just eight players and relied on two freshmen for the bulk of their scoring. Even so, UNO played the Lions more competitively on the road then last month's game at Lakefront Arena, when they were at full strength.

The first half was highly competitive, though the Lions scored the last five points late in the frame to go up 45-37 at the break. UNO played the hosts even in the second half, relying on M.J. Thomas' 22 points and 10 rebounds, as well as Kohen Rowbatham's 17 points, to remain within striking distance until the end.

The Privateers next host Stephen F. Austin on Monday evening at Lakefront Arena.