San Antonio, Texas – Points off turnovers and points in the paint were the difference in UIW men's basketball's 87-72 loss to Southland Conference leader, New Orleans, Saturday afternoon, as the Privateers held 26-7 and 50-28 advantages in those respective categories.

HOW IT HAPPENED

UIW (6-9 overall, 1-3 SLC) jumped out to a 6-0 lead on baskets from Jalin Hart and Simi Socks and free throws from Shawn Johnson, but UNO (9-6 overall, 4-0 SLC) quickly took the lead and used a 17-6 run to take a 17-12 lead, forcing UIW to take a timeout. The Cardinals had four turnovers in the first six minutes of the game, resulting in six Privateer points in the run.

Johnson's triple stopped the bleeding as UIW eventually tied the game at 21- and 24-all with 9:42 left in the opening half, but UNO scored 12 unanswered for its largest lead of the half, 36-24, as the Privateers had a pair of steals in the run. The Cardinals continued to battle and a Jorden Kite triple followed by a Tyler Singleton layup brought the deficit to six, 44-38, at the break.

UIW called an early timeout as UNO opened the second half with consecutive baskets for a 10-point lead, 48-38. UIW outscored UNO, 14-2, for its narrowest deficit, 54-50, with 15:52 remaining in regulation, as Johnson hit a three-pointer and Socks had five points in the run.

The teams battled back and forth and the Cardinals brought themselves in a one-possession game, 60-57, following a Hart layup. The Cardinals remained in striking distance, not trailing by more than seven points, before UNO turned a five-point lead to a 12-point advantage in a span of four minutes, as and an-one by Erik Thomas gave the Privateers a 79-67 lead with 2:15 left in regulation. A Hart three-pointer cut the UIW deficit to single digits, but UNO closed the game on a 6-0 run.

LEADERS

Hart led UIW with 19 points, while Socks dropped 18. The two combined to go 14-for-21 from the floor and 8-for-9 from the charity stripe. Johnson added 14 points, as he went 4-for-7 from beyond the arc. As a team, the Cardinals shot 48 percent from the floor.

The league's leading scorer, UNO's Thomas, led all players with 28 points on 11-of-17 shooting and 6-for-7 from the line. He led five Privateers in double figures, as Tevin Broyles (14), Christavious Gill (14), Travin Thibodeaux (13), and Makur Puou (12) followed. Thibodeaux earned the double-double with a game-high 11 rebounds. The Privateers shot 56 percent from the floor.

QUOTES

Assistant Coach John Smith on the game
"We matched up with them statistically, but when you turn the ball over, it puts your team in a bind. We just have to be better offensively and not turn the ball over so we can get higher percentage shots. I'm disappointed in how we turned the ball over. It took us out of the flow of the game by turning the basketball over. When I look at the stat sheet, I see 26 points off of turnovers. When you lose by 15 and they have 26 points off of turnovers, you didn't take care of the basketball. We were even with them, we hit more threes than them, but 26 points off turnovers, that's the ball game."

UP NEXT
UIW plays at Lamar on Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 7 p.m. The game will be televised live on Spectrum Sports Texas, Channel 323 in San Antonio. Outside of the Alamo City, fans can watch on ESPN3.

STAY TUNED

The Cardinals host Houston Baptist on Saturday, Jan. 14 at 7 p.m.

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