Shorthanded again, UNO Falls to SLU

Filmore had 23 points
for Jay Ladner's squad

For the third game in a row, the Privateer leader in most categories, Travin Thibodeaux, watched from the bench as his teammates lost, 68-64 to SLU on this night at Lakefront Arena.

In the suspended senior's absence, Diontae Champion led New Orleans with 16 in the losing effort. Southeastern's Joshua Fillmore hit five threes on his way to 19 first half points and 23 overall.

Champion had 16 to lead UNO

On the strength of Fillmore's unconscious shooting, the Lions led UNO 38-31 at the half.  The visitors extended their second half lead to as much as 17 before the Bucs rallied to tie the game at 59. But Marlain Veal had some key buckets down the stretch for SLU, and without its best player, the Privateers (14-15, 11-7) just couldn't muster enough offense at the end.

New Orleans will next play in the first round of the Southland Conference tournament next Wednesday in Katy, Texas.

UNO Wins Two at Sugar Bowl Classic

Warzek dominated Ball State

After taking two defeats in midweek games, the Privateers (4-4) rebounded with wins over Ball State and Virginia Tech before falling to Iowa while hosting the Sugar Bowl Classic at Maestri Field.

On Friday night against Ball State, Bryan Warzek was dominant, firing 7 innings of shutout baseball while striking out 12.  Collin Morrill doubled and drove in five runs to boost the struggling New Orleans offense, and Cody Ducote added a homer in the 10-1 victory.

On Saturday, the Privateers were in and out of trouble all day, as the visiting Hokies of Virginia Tech mustered only two runs off 10 hits.  Kyle Arjona got through 5 tough innings for the win, Owen Magee had his second homer of the week to power the offense (the first was at LSU), and Beau Bratton went 3-for-3 and blasted his first round-tripper in the 4-2 triumph.

Magee had two HRs this week

On Sunday, the Iowa Hawkeyes stifled the Privateers' attempt to sweep the Classic, jumping on Brayson Smith and Eric Orze early to establish a lead and win going away, 8-2. Ducote knocked in both New Orleans runs.

Before the weekend, UNO endured some hard times, mustering just 4 hits off the SWAC's Jackson State in a 4-2 loss on Tuesday, then blowing an early 3-0 at LSU on Wednesday with a disastrous pitching effort and eventual 14-6 loss.

Shorthanded UNO Falls Again

Freshman G Troy Green

Again playing without indefinitely suspended leading scorer Travin Thibodeaux, the Privateers (14-14, 11-6) fell to Nicholls at Stopher Gym, 78-64.

New Orleans, which did have Lamont Berzat and Bryson Robinson back from suspension and Ezekiel Charles back from injury, again fought gamely, leading the host Colonels for much of the first half before trailing 36-32 at the intermission.  The game was tied as late as 48-48 before Nicholls cleaned up its generally sloppy play and finished strong.  UNO never cleaned up its sloppiness, turning the ball over 24 times.

Troy Green put an impressive offensive game together, finishing with 18 points and getting to the foul line 10 times.  Robinson added 13 off the bench.

UNO will finish the regular season on Wednesday night at Lakefront Arena with a rematch against Southeastern Louisiana.

Bearkats Nip Depleted Privateers

Puou's double-double
wasn't quite enough

On a strange night in Huntsville, the Privateers played a critical late season conference tilt without four of its best players, falling to Sam Houston 57-54.

With Ezekiel Charles out with an injury and Travin Thibodeaux, Bryson Robinson, and Lamont Berzat out for reasons nobody appeared to want to talk about, the Privateer backups plus Makur Puou fought valiantly but came up just short after holding the hosts without a point for the last 4:51.

Puou tried his best to carry UNO to victory with a huge double double, notching 20 points and 10 rebounds. No other players scored in double digits for the Bucs, though Diontae Champion almost got his own double-double with 9 points and 9 rebounds

New Orleans next travels to Thibodaux on Saturday for a rematch against Nicholls.

UNO Takes 2 of 3 on Opening Weekend

A new UNO baseball season is underway, and while the Privateers were unable to sweep in the MLB Andre Dawson Classic, they did grab two wins in their three games.

On opening night at Maestri Field, New Orleans rallied from a 4-2 deficit late to tie Illinois-Chicago, then walked off the Flames in the bottom of the 10th inning on a Darren Willis bloop single over a drawn-in infield for a 5-4 victory. The bullpen was the story in this one, as they got 4 2/3 scoreless innings from relievers William Griffin and Mathew Oset, which paved the way for the comeback.

On Saturday, the Privateers got their first home run of the season from transfer newcomer Cody Ducote, but still fell to Alabama State at Barrow Stadium by a 6-3 score.  The game was carried nationally on the MLB Network.

On Sunday back at the Maes, the struggling UNO offense got a look at the lesser end of Southern's pitching staff and took advantage, exploding for 14 runs, including an eight-run seventh inning, in a 14-3 victory. Jacob McFadden went deep for New Orleans for his first home run, and John Thomas Mauldin added two doubles.

The Privateers will be back at home on Tuesday night against Jackson State before they travel to Baton Rouge to face LSU on Wednesday.

15-0 Run Helps UNO Edge McNeese

Puou's career high
lifted UNO to victory

The Privateers (14-12, 11-4) broke open a 33-32 lead at the break with a second-half-opening 15-0 run, downing McNeese State on homecoming afternoon at Lakefront Arena, 90-74.

On senior night, senior Makur Puou had a career high scoring night for New Orleans with 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting. Fellow senior Travin Thibodeaux added 18 to go along with a team-leading 7 assists.

The game was largely a struggle in the first half, as the visiting Cowboys led most of the way until UNO snuck ahead just before halftime. After the big run, though, the Privateers were not seriously threatened.

New Orleans will visit Sam Houston State on Wednesday night for a key game with tournament bye implications.

SLU Fights Off UNO, Wins 71-64

Berzat hit three triples for UNO

The Privateers (13-12, 10-4) rallied from down 25 in the second half to cut the deficit to 6, but ultimately dug itself too big a hole, falling at Southeastern Louisiana, 71-64.

New Orleans surrendered an early 18-0 run, falling behind 20-5. It didn't get much better the remainder of the first half, as they trailed a whopping 40-17 at the break, unable to stop the Lions' penetration.  UNO fought back, cutting the margin as low as 68-62 with 32.1 seconds remaining, but were unable to grab key rebounds down the stretch to help their cause.

Troy Green led a lackluster offensive effort with 13 points.  Lamont Berzat added 11 points, including 3-of-4 from deep.  Leading scorer Travin Thibodeaux was held to just 5.

UNO will come back home for a doubleheader against McNeese on Saturday, with the women tipping off at 2 p.m. and the men a half an hour after the end of that game.

Privateers Gut Out A Road Win

Senior Travin Thibodeaux

After taking a beating at the hands of Nicholls last week at Lakefront Arena, the Privateers (13-11, 10-3) got an important grind-it-out win at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 62-53 on Saturday night.

New Orleans broke open an early back-and-forth game with six straight points to lead 29-22 at the break. They couldn't quite shake the Islanders on their homecoming night, as they couldn't get the lead beyond low double digits before TAMU-CC made a run to cut the lead to 45-41. But then the Privateers put the game away with 11 straight points down the stretch.

Travin Thibodeaux again led New Orleans in scoring with 16 points.  Sophomore guard Bryson Robinson added 15, including three triples. It was not a sparkling shooting night for the Privateers, but they committed just 8 turnovers as a team.

UNO will hit the road again with a short trip to Hammond on Valentine's Day to take on another top Southland contender in Southeastern Louisiana

Discussion forum game thread

Nicholls Blasts UNO to Claim 1st

Peters drives against Makur Puou

The showdown for first place on the lakefront wasn't much of a showdown at all. The Nicholls Colonels dominated the Privateers from the jump and claimed their share of first going away, 81-64.

New Orleans (12-11, 9-3) fell behind 14-6 early and lost ground at the end of the first half, trailing at the break 35-23.  Nicholls removed any doubt soon after, extending its lead to 55-32 before the Privateers were finally able to chip away to some degree. But UNO couldn't get any closer than 10, and the game was never really in doubt.

Roddy Peters, formerly of Maryland, led Nicholls' band of transfers with 27 points. Bryson Robinson hit a flurry of late threes to lead UNO with 22 points. Travin Thibodeaux had 20.

UNO gets a week-long break before returning to action at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi next Saturday night. The Bucs knocked off the Islanders 61-55 in New Orleans earlier this season.