The University of New Orleans Privateers (14-15, 12-8 Southland) took a massive step toward a first-round bye in the upcoming Southland Conference Tournament with a 77-73 upset of Stephen F. Austin (25-4, 18-2 Southland) on Monday night at William R. Johnson Coliseum.
Coleton Benson finished with 30 points — his fourth 30-point game this season — on 10-of-17 shooting from the floor, including three 3-pointers. He was a perfect 7-for-7 from the free-throw line, including a pair with just under five seconds left to seal the victory in Nacogdoches.
The Texas native played all 40 minutes in his home state — his fifth game of 40 or more minutes this season.
Freshman Panagiotis Pagonis made four of the biggest plays of his career down the stretch, first grabbing a pair of offensive rebounds with just over a minute left to extend a Privateers’ possession, and bleed precious time off the clock.
The Athens Assassin then drew a foul from Keon Thompson with 15.9 seconds to play and the Privateers clinging to a 73-71 lead. His first free throw was good. His second attempt spun around the rim twice before falling through the net, giving UNO a two-possession lead.
Jakevion Buckley had 11 assists and now has 153 for the season. He ranks No. 7 on the program’s single-season assists list, moving past Lamont Thorton (143), Terry Gill (148) and Brandon Knight (150) on Monday.
MJ Thomas finished with his fifth double-double of the season with 18 points and 10 rebounds against the ‘Jacks. Thomas made seven of his 11 shots and had three blocks and a pair of steals. He and TJ Cope were instrumental in a first half that saw the Privateers take a 31-23 lead into halftime. Cope finished with 11 points and seven rebounds.
Stephen F. Austin came out of halftime determined to keep its winning streak alive, eventually taking its first lead of the contest, 37-36, after a pair of free throws from Ahamed Mohammed with 16:10 remaining. Chrishawn Christmas’ tip-in with 13:19 remaining tied the game at 41 before a 17-4 run by the Privateers — capped by a steal and coast-to-coast layup from Benson — put New Orleans up by 13 with just under 10 minutes to play.
The Privateers finished the game shooting 48% from the floor but held Stephen F. Austin to 36% shooting and 18% from beyond the arc. New Orleans outrebounded SFA 37-34 with a 25-16 edge on the defensive glass. The Privateers led for 37:32 of the 40 minutes, while the Lumberjacks led for just 37 seconds.
Thompson and Lateef Patrick finished with 19 points to lead Stephen F. Austin. Jerald Colonel added 11 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks.
The Privateers remain a perfect 10-0 in Southland games played on Monday or Tuesday this season. Monday marked UNO’s first victory at William R. Johnson Coliseum in seven attempts. It also snapped Stephen F. Austin’s 15-game home winning streak dating to last season and the nation’s second-longest active winning streak at 13 games.
New Orleans has now won nine road games this season, tying the 1992-93 and 2007-08 squads for the most in program history.
The Privateers head back home tied for third in the league standings with UTRGV and owning the best win among the teams around them in the standings – Monday’s victory over current No. 1 seed Stephen F. Austin.
UNO hosts McNeese on Senior Night at 5 p.m. Saturday and Southeastern at 7 p.m. Monday to close out the regular season. Both games will air on ESPN+ and 106.7 The Ticket FM.
READ MORE:VIDEO REPORT: Privateers snap Stephen F. Austin’s 13-game winning streak
