Nicholls Beats UNO in Overtime

St. Hilaire had 20 points
in the first half, 32 overall

A hard fought contest on the lakefront ended with a narrow 105-101 overtime victory by visiting Nicholls.

The Colonels shot 58% in the first half en route to a 52-45 lead, with the Privateers staying in it only by the grace of Derek St. Hilaire's monster 20-point opening frame.  UNO tightened up defensively down the stretch, finally taking a 62-61 lead on Ahren Freeman's putback.

The lead went back and forth until, with UNO up 78-75, Rodney Carson Jr. hit a killer fallaway three from the right wing.  But Nicholls rallied and, down 85-82, Ty Gordon banked in a three at the buzzer to send it to overtime.

In overtime, Nicholls, with new life, immediately took control with eight straight points and held on to put the Privateers away.

St. Hilaire finished with 32 points.  Troy Green added 21, and Damion Rosser 17.

New Orleans (6-14, 5-7) heads to Incarnate Word on Monday for a COVID makeup game.

Privateers Win 2 of 3 Against ULM

Fr OF Isaac Williams

Down six runs in the fifth inning, New Orleans (3-2) scored seven and made it hold up, toppling UL Monroe 7-6 in game one of a three-game set at Maestri Field.

After Isaac Williams delivered a two-run single to give UNO the lead, two scoreless innings from Jacob Lamkin and one each from Haden Erbe and Collin Kulivan preserved it.  Reliever Caleb Seroski pitched his own scoreless inning in relief of struggling starter Chris Turpin to get the win.

Kasten Furr homered in the 2nd

In game two, Kasten Furr's home run got the Privateers off to a strong start.  But with the score tied at 4-4 in the fifth, Darren Willis' sacrifice fly scored Furr and put New Orleans up for good.  The Privateers got more strong bullpen work and went on to win 7-4.

In Sunday's finale, the Privateers fell behind 4-0 early.  Pierce Howard hit a home run to cut the margin to 4-1, but UNO couldn't get much else going and eventually fell 7-2.

They'll next be in action at Maestri Field on Wednesday night against South Alabama.

Late Run Helps UNO To First Road Win

Trailing 51-48 to host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, New Orleans scored 13 points in a row to take control and claim their first road win of this strange season.  The final was 69-61.

The run was decisive in a game that had been extremely nip-and-tuck up to that point.  The Privateer offensive attack was fairly balanced, with Troy Green leading the way with 16 points.  Damion Rosser had 13 points and 9 rebounds.  Derek St. Hilaire added 11, including three triples.

For the second consecutive game, the UNO defense held its opponent to under 40% from the field.  The Islanders shot an anemic 32%, scored just 12 points in the paint, and were outrebounded 44-36.

The Privateers will return home on Saturday to play their third game this week when they play a rematch against Nicholls, who blasted them earlier in the season in Thibodaux.

Five-Run Seventh Lifts Tulane Over UNO

The Tulane Green Wave broke open a close 2-1 game with five runs in the seventh inning, scoring a comfortable 7-1 win over the Privateers (2-2) to claim the only game of the 2021 Pelican Cup.

KC Simonich drove in the only New Orleans run in the top of the sixth with a two-out single to score Pierce Howard.  But after reasonably effective outings from starter Kyle Khachadourian and Cortlynn Ramirez, Rudy Amaya surrendered five runs in just a third of an inning as the Green Wave put the game away.

UNO returns to the lakefront this Friday through Sunday for a three-game set against UL Monroe.

Privateers Romp Over UCA

Troy Green scores in the paint

For a struggling 5-13 team, the Privateers have won their share of home blowouts this season, adding another one to the pile with an 88-63 victory over Central Arkansas.

Trailing 13-12 early, New Orleans went on a 21-4 run and never looked back, cruising to victory over the Bears while never being seriously threatened.

Derek St. Hilaire paced the UNO attack with 18 points, with Troy Green close behind at 17.  Damion Rosser added 13.  New Orleans, which improved to 4-6 in Southland play, held UCA to 32% from the field.

UNO travels to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in a quick turnaround on Wednesday night.

Privateers Split Sunday DH with Southern

In the first game of Sunday's doubleheader at Maestri Field, the Privateers (1-1) fell to Southern 4-3.

Down by one run, New Orleans was unable to capitalize on a leadoff triple in the 8th by Gaige Howard or a leadoff double in the 9th by Salo Iza.  Both of those threats ended with three consecutive outs.

In game two, UNO flew out of the gate with a five-run first, capped by a three-run homer from Houston transfer Blake Way.  The Privateers rode that all the way to a 6-3 victory, using a bullpen game highlighted by winning redshirt freshman pitcher Austin Acree's three scoreless innings.

Woullard's Huge Opening Day Sparks UNO

Woullard: 4-for-5, two
homers, 7 RBI

The 2021 Privateer baseball season began just as the 2020 season suddenly ended: with a win over Southern on the lakefront.

New Orleans took the first of three games against the Jaguars at Maestri Field by a 10-5 score.  Luther Woullard had a monster opening day, going 4-for-5 and launching two homers to go along with a double and a triple.  Batting in the 8th inning, he needed only a single for the cycle, but blasted his second home run instead.

Also going deep was Beau Bratton, who turned an early 4-2 deficit into a tie game with a two-run blast in the bottom of the third.  He, Darren Willis, and Kasten Furr had two hits apiece to aid the UNO offensive attack.  Chris Turpin struggled early but held Southern at bay after four early runs, going six innings and earning the victory.  Collin Kulivan went 1 1/3 innings for the save.

The Privateers complete the series against Southern tomorrow at Maestri Field with a doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m.

Second Half Spark Carries SFA Past UNO

Green had 20 to lead UNO
(Courtesy: UNO Athletics)

The Privateers (4-13, 3-6), off a 16-day COVID layoff, played inspired basketball for much of the afternoon against Stephen F. Austin, but couldn't finish down the stretch in a 89-79 defeat.

New Orleans held a 62-55 lead in the second half when SFA coach Kyle Keller got a technical foul.  The Lumberjacks awoke from their slumber from that point on, establishing their superiority inside and outscoring UNO 34-17 the rest of the way.  SFA bested UNO by a whopping 52-28 in the paint.

Troy Green led the way for the Bucs with 20 points.  Rodney Carson, Jr. added 16, Damion Rosser had 14, and Derek St. Hilaire, who was kicked out of the game after two technicals of his own, had 11.

With this Saturday's scheduled game at McNeese cancelled, UNO's next outing appears to be next Monday night at home versus Central Arkansas, which is itself a makeup of an earlier postponed contest.