The New Orleans Privateers men’s basketball team lost a close game to the McNeese Cowboys, 66-63, on Saturday at Lakefront Arena. The outcome was decided in the final seconds after Coleton Benson’s long three-point attempt narrowly missed as time expired.
Late in the game, Jakevion Buckley gave New Orleans a 63-60 lead with just over two minutes left. McNeese responded quickly, cutting the deficit to one point. In a stretch where neither team could make a field goal, Carl Cherenfant tied the game for McNeese with a free throw inside the last minute.
New Orleans had two opportunities to regain the lead but missed both shots. After securing a rebound, McNeese called timeout and Tyshawn Archie scored on a layup with less than three seconds remaining. The Privateers then turned over the inbound pass and fouled Jerrell Colbert, who made one of two free throws to extend McNeese’s lead to three points.
Benson caught an inbound pass and attempted a deep three-pointer that would have tied the game, but it did not fall. The contest was played before more than 1,000 fans.
McNeese led by as many as ten points late in the first half—its largest margin of the night—but New Orleans dominated rebounding with a 43-32 advantage. However, McNeese committed eight fewer turnovers than New Orleans.
Larry Johnson led all scorers with 17 points for McNeese but was limited to just one point in the second half by New Orleans’ defense. Archie also contributed 17 points for McNeese.
Kedrick Osby posted his best offensive performance of the season for New Orleans with 16 points. Benson added 10 points and five rebounds while Churchill Abass recorded nine points and ten rebounds. MJ Thomas finished with eight points and nine boards.
The Privateers are now part of a three-way tie for fourth place in their conference standings following this loss combined with wins by Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Nicholls, and UTRGV. Securing fourth place is important because it grants a first-round bye in their conference tournament.
New Orleans will finish its regular season on Monday against Southeastern.
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