Thursday, December 31

South Alabama 71, Florida International 59
MIAMI (AP) - Tim Williams scored 18 points as South Alabama avoided a letdown from an upset win at Florida and defeated Florida International 71-59 on Thursday.

In their first game since defeating the 18th-ranked Gators on Dec. 22, the Jaguars scored 13 unanswered points and held the Golden Panthers scoreless in the final 6:23 of the first half.

Williams keyed the run with nine points, helping South Alabama (10-4, 2-0 Sun Belt Conference) to a 31-16 halftime lead.

LaShun Watson's two free throws 5:55 into the second half increased the Jaguars' advantage to 41-23.

FIU (4-12, 1-2) responded with eight straight points in the next 2:16 as Marvin Roberts scored all the points during the run.

But the Jaguars maintained their double-digit lead the rest of the game.

Roberts scored 26 of his game-high 29 points in the second half.

Troy 83, Louisiana-Monroe 82
MONROE, La. (AP) - Brandon Hazzard scored 30 points and Troy held off Louisiana-Monroe in the closing minutes for an 83-82 victory on Thursday.

Hazzard hit six 3-pointers as Troy (7-6, 2-0 Sun Belt Conference) won despite not scoring in the final 2 minutes.

The Trojans led 80-72 with 5:19 left and 81-74 with 3:54 remaining before the Warhawks (5-9, 0-3) began to rally.

They cut it to 83-80 on Jarvis Hill's two free throws with 1:42 remaining and 83-82 when Hill hit two more free throws with 27 seconds left.

Troy missed the front end of two 1-and-1 opportunities in the final 26 seconds, but the Warhawks' Colby Carr missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Vernon Taylor scored 16 points, Antywan Jones had 13 and Yamene Coleman and Michael Vogler scored 10 points each for Troy.

Tommie Sykes scored 23, Hill added 17, Tony Hooper scored 15 and Rudy Turner had 10 points for the Warhawks.

Denver 64, Arkansas State 55
DENVER (AP) - Nate Rohnert scored 15 points, Sabatino Chen and Chase Hallam had 12 each and the Denver Pioneers overcame the absence of head coach Joe Scott to beat Arkansas State 64-55 on Thursday.

Scott was suspended for one game by the Sun Belt Conference for his ejection against Northern Colorado on Monday. Assistant Mike McKee coached the team against the Red Wolves.

Martavius Adams led Arkansas State with 17 points and Brandon Reed had 11.

The Pioneers (10-4, 3-0 Sun Belt) were hot from 3-point range early, hitting three of their first three from long range to take a lead they never relinquished. They led 19-8 before the Red Wolves (6-6, 1-1) used an 8-0 run to close within three with 8:05 left in the first half.

Denver responded with a run of its own. Leading 26-20, the Pioneers scored the last eight points of the first half, the last on an emphatic dunk by Hallam with 23 seconds left before the break.

Hallam scored 10 points in the first half.

Denver's defense was stingy in the first half, holding Arkansas State scoreless in the last 5:15 and to about 40 percent shooting in the first 20 minutes.

The Red Wolves cut the lead to 38-28 with 12:51 left in the game, but the Pioneers again responded. Rob Lewis and Chen had layups to spark an 8-1 run that pushed the lead to 46-30 midway through the second half. With Bryant on the bench, Arkansas State trimmed the lead to nine with 3:59 left but they couldn't get any closer until a 3-pointer with 4.4 seconds cut the lead to 62-55.

Denver is 3-0 in the Sun Belt Conference for the first time in four seasons.

Middle Tennessee 63, New Orleans 58
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Desmond Yates scored 18 points and Middle Tennessee led the entire second half to defeat New Orleans 63-58 on Thursday.

The Blue Raiders (6-6, 1-0 Sun Belt Conference) improved to 1-4 on the road and sent the Privateers (5-9, 0-3) to their school-record seventh consecutive defeat.

New Orleans cut Middle Tennessee's lead to 59-57 on Johann Mpondo's layup with 2:47 left and to 59-58 on Ejike Hart's free throw with 57 seconds remaining. Yates retaliated with a jumper for a 61-58 advantage and the Privateers didn't score again.

New Orleans led 26-19 with 6:21 left in the first half before the Blue Raiders went on an 18-2 run for a 37-28 halftime advantage.

J.T. Sulton scored 12 points, James Gallman had 11 and James Washington finished with 10 points for Middle Tennessee.

Mpondo scored 15 and Carl Blair and Billy Humphrey scored 14 points each for New Orleans.

North Texas 83, UALR 78
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Tristan Thompson sparked an 11-3 run in the final two minutes Thursday as North Texas defeated Arkansas-Little Rock 83-78.

Trailing 75-72, Thompson hit a 3-pointer (AP) - his sixth of the game (AP) - to tie the game up, and Josh White added another 3-pointer to put the Mean Green (9-4, 2-1 Sun Belt) up for good, 78-75. White added two free throws with 8 seconds left after Little Rock had pulled within 80-78.

Thompson finished with 26 points, George Odufuwa added 20 and eight rebounds, and White had 13 points and seven assists for North Texas, which has won three straight.

The victory also moved North Texas coach Johnny Jones into second place in school history with 135 career wins.

Alex Garcia-Mendoza had 21 points and Solomon Bozeman 20 for Little Rock (4-10, 0-3).

WKU 77, Louisiana-Lafayette 65
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (AP) - Steffphon Pettigrew scored 17 points to lead Western Kentucky past Louisiana-Lafayette 77-65 on Thursday night in the Hilltoppers' conference opener.

After Louisiana-Lafayette (4-9, 1-1 Sun Belt Conference) took its second lead of the game at 44-42, Western Kentucky (7-4, 1-0) responded with a 29-12 run to put the contest out of reach.

The Ragin' Cajuns were down by as many as 10 in the first half, but came back early in the second half with three 3-pointers by Randell Daigle. When Daigle picked up his fourth foul, the Hilltoppers went on their decisive run.

Jeremy Evans scored 16 points and A.J. Slaughter added 14 points and six assists for Western Kentucky.

The Hilltoppers had 10 steals, forcing 18 Louisiana-Lafeyette turnovers compared to seven for the Hilltoppers.

Tyren Johnson had 17 points and eight rebounds and Daigle added 14 points for the Ragin' Cajuns.

Tuesday, December 29

Hofstra 67, Florida Atlantic 63
BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) - Nathaniel Lester and Charles Jenkins scored 17 points each and Hofstra held off Florida Atlantic for a 67-63 victory on Tuesday night.

Chaz Williams added 12 points as Hofstra (8-5) built a 53-43 lead with 9:15 left in the game. The Owls (5-8), who have lost four consecutive games, came back, cutting the lead to 57-56 on Raymond Taylor's jumper with 4:37 left.

Florida Atlantic again cut the lead to one, 61-60 with 1:26 remaining, but the Pride sealed the victory with six free throws in the final 35 seconds.

Greg Washington had 13 rebounds for Hofstra.

Taylor, who is averaging 17.2 points a game, scored only 13, going 4-for-17 from the field.

Sanchez Hughley led the Owls with 14 points and Alex Tucker added 13 points. Brett Royster had 13 rebounds for Florida Atlantic, which was 7-for-25 from the field (28 percent) in the second half.

Arkansas State 98, Central Baptist 60
JONESBORO, Ark. (AP) - Brandon Reed scored 14 points and Trey Finn finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds as Arkansas State defeated Central Baptist 98-60 Tuesday night.

Four other players scored in double figures for the Red Wolves (6-5). Jeremy Thomas and Brandon Peterson had 13 apiece while Adam Sterrenberg and Martavius Adams each added 12. Coach John Brady won his 300th career game.

Ryan Barnes scored 16 points to lead the Mustangs (9-7).

Adams also had seven rebounds in only 12 minutes and scored the first eight points for Arkansas State. Rashad Allison recorded a career-high 11 assists.

The Red Wolves never trailed, led by 45 and shot 56.3 percent (36 of 64).

Sunday, December 27

Maryland 72, Florida Atlantic 59
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) - Greivis Vasquez scored 26 points, Landon Milbourne had 19, and Maryland improved to 6-0 at home with a 72-59 victory over Florida Atlantic on Sunday.

It was the third straight game in which Vasquez reached the 20-point mark. The senior guard went 12-for-20 from the field, had eight rebounds and five assists to help Maryland (8-3) to its fourth win in five games.

The Terrapins played without second-leading scorer Sean Mosley, who has a sprained left ankle. The sophomore forward participated in warmups and dressed for the game but did not see action for the first time in his career.

Ray Taylor, a 5-foot-6 freshman, scored 16 points and Greg Gantt added 14 for Florida Atlantic (5-7). Brett Royster had 14 rebounds to help FAU finish with a 49-45 advantage on the boards.

Maryland limited the Owls to 30 percent shooting and forced 11 turnovers to lead 39-27 at halftime.

Wednesday, December 23

Georgia 77, Florida Atlantic 60
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) - Trey Thompkins scored a career-high 35 points and claimed 15 rebounds, leading Georgia to a 77-60 victory over Florida Atlantic on Wednesday night.

Dustin Ware was the only other Bulldog in double figures with 12 points.

Florida Atlantic (5-6) got 12 points apiece from Raymond Taylor and Shavar Richardson. Greg Gantt added 10.

The Owls led for most of the first half and by as many as nine points, the last time at 23-14 with 7:39 to go before halftime.

Georgia (6-4) whittled the deficit to 30-29 at halftime.

The Bulldogs took a 35-34 lead on Thompkins' layup with 17:20 left. The Owls tied it with a free throw at 35-all, but never led again.

Georgia's 20-3 run pushed the lead to 64-44 with 4:32 remaining.

The Owls hit four straight 3-pointers to cut the lead to 66-58 with 2:18 to go, but Georgia pulled away at the end.

Louisville 84, Louisiana-Lafayette 69
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Samardo Samuels posted career highs with 29 points and 15 rebounds as Louisville beat Louisiana-Lafayette 84-69 on Wednesday night.

Kyle Kuric added 13 points and seven rebounds off the bench while Preston Knowles had 11 points and five assists as the Cardinals (8-3) won their third straight.

Louisville dominated the paint despite playing without sophomore center Terrence Jennings, who was suspended for the game for violating team rules.

The Cardinals outrebounded the Ragin' Cajuns 48-30 and outscored them 44-10 in the paint.

Chris Gradnigo led Louisiana-Lafayette (4-7) with 23 points and Randell Daigle had 21, but the Ragin' Cajuns ran out of gas after trimming Louisville's lead to 72-63 with 3:33 remaining.

Canisius 63, New Orleans 48
GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) - Julius Coles scored 18 points and Elton Frazier 17 as Canisius broke the game open late in the first half and beat New Orleans 63-48 on Wednesday night.

Robert Goldsberry hit two consecutive 3-pointers to start a 15-0 run for the Golden Griffins (6-6) that turned a 21-17 deficit with 5:22 left until halftime into a 32-21 lead.

The Privateers (5-8) never got within seven points after that.

Frazier was 8-for-10 from the field as Canisius shot 51.1 percent (13-for-23) to New Orleans' 30.4 percent (14-for-46).

Charles Carmouche scored 16 points for the Privateers, who held Canisius' leading scorer, Frank Thomas, to nine points. Thomas scored 30 in Canisius' win Tuesday over Southern Mississippi.

Both teams played for the third straight day in the South Mississippi Christmas Classic. Canisius lost Monday to North Florida. New Orleans lost all three of its games.

Tuesday, December 22

South Alabama 67, No. 18 Florida 66
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) - Florida followed an impressive November with a disastrous December.

Tim Williams scored 21 points, DeAndre Hersey had a putback with 1.8 seconds remaining and South Alabama stunned the 18th-ranked Gators 67-66 on Tuesday night.

Florida (8-3) lost its third straight, hardly what anyone envisioned after an 8-0 start that included November wins against Florida State, Michigan State and Rutgers.

"It's never ever smooth sailing," coach Billy Donovan said. "Our first eight games, it was great and now all of a sudden there's three losses. To me, it's the resiliency, it's your ability to fight back, it's your ability to battle. ... I think our guys are going to have to dig deep down inside and try to battle to get through."

It was Florida's first home loss in December since 2004 against Louisville. The Gators have a week to think about this one, and will spend the extra time trying to figure out what happened to a team that showed promise early.

"We came out hungry and I guess the rankings got to our heads," guard Kenny Boynton said. "We played with a chip on our shoulder and then somehow we got complacent. We've got to play with a chip on our shoulder."

Florida rallied from a seven-point deficit in the second half, and had the lead and the ball with less than a minute to play. But Chandler Parsons, who finished 1 of 8 from the field, misfired on a wild runner in the lane with 18 seconds remaining.

The Jaguars (9-4) called time out with 12.7 seconds left and found a play they thought would work. It did, but not quite by design.

Williams drove the lane, but his shot clanged off the rim. The Gators failed to block out Hersey, who grabbed the rebound and put it back up for the game winner. It was South Alabama's 16th offensive board.

Florida had one final chance, but Erving Walker's desperation heave from halfcourt hit the back of the rim.

"I told our team to allow us to give ourselves a heck of a Christmas present and we did that," Jaguars coach Ronnie Arrow said.

Florida's real undoing came at the 3-point line.

The Gators finished 3 of 22 from behind the arc, including 1 of 10 in the second half. South Alabama, meanwhile, connected on 7 of 11 from there.

Florida entered the game leading the Southeastern Conference in 3-point defense, but the Jaguars made five of their first seven from long range.

"I was actually shocked that we were even in the game coming down the stretch with just our shooting numbers," Donovan said. "I've never been around numbers like that before. ... I don't care who you're playing against, it's difficult to win when you shoot the ball like that."

Alex Tyus led Florida with 16 points and seven rebounds, while Boynton added 14 points, and Vernon Macklin finished with 13 points and seven boards.

But Florida's backcourt, Boynton and Walker, struggled all game. Boynton was 3 of 10 from the field. Walker was 3 of 11, including 0 for 6 from behind the arc.

Donovan told his players to stop shooting 3s at one point, and the Gators chipped into the lead with inside play from Tyus and Macklin.

The Gators pulled ahead 66-63 with 1:17 remaining. But Williams hit two free throws, Parsons missed the runner and then Hersey hit the biggest basket of his career.

"I just can't hold back and I can't let up," Hersey said. "I did my job tonight and gave my team big minutes."

Florida could have used a little more help, since center Kenny Kadji (back), forward Erik Murphy (shoulder), Macklin (gluteus) and Parsons (leg) have been slowed by injuries. Shipman joined the list when he injured his right knee in the first half.

Depth, defense and difficulty from 3-point range proved to be Florida's downfall.

"It wasn't the last play that lost us the game," Parsons said. "It was just the whole mindset that we had. Coach has been talking about everyone delivering. I know I did not deliver at all. I did not step up. I didn't hit any shots, and for us to get to where we want to be, everybody's got to start stepping up and playing better. We've got a huge mountain to climb."

WKU 83, Murray State 72
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (AP) - A.J. Slaughter had 20 points and a career-high nine assists to lead Western Kentucky to an 83-72 win over Murray State on Tuesday night.

Steffphon Pettigrew added 18 points and nine rebounds and Jeremy Evans chipped in 15 points and nine boards for the Hilltoppers (6-4).

B.J. Jenkins scored 15 points to lead the Racers (9-3).

In a game that featured 12 lead changes and nine ties, Western Kentucky used an 11-2 run to pull away from Murray State in the second half after leading 36-35 at halftime.

After committing 25 turnovers against Louisville on Saturday, Western Kentucky had just 11 against Murray State, which had won nine of its last 10 games.

The Hilltoppers, played without Sergio Kerusch, the team's second-leading scorer who broke his foot in practice on Friday. They also did not play Anthony Sally or Cliff Dixon, but still managed 22 points from their bench.

North Texas 71, Southeastern Louisiana 61
DENTON, Texas (AP) - Eric Tramiel scored 19 points and led four North Texas players in double digits as the Mean Green defeated Southeastern Louisiana 71-61 on Tuesday night.

Josh White added 13 points for North Texas (7-4), while teammates George Odufuwa and Tristan Thompson each picked up 12.

The Mean Green pulled ahead early, shooting 52 percent from the field in the first period and entering halftime with a 43-29 advantage over the Lions (7-4).

Damon Forest led the Lions in scoring by coming off the bench to put in 19 points.

Starters David Ndoumba and Patrick Sullivan each picked up 14.

Middle Tennessee 69, Howard 51
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) - James Gallman scored 14 points and Desmond Yates got seven of his 13 points in the opening 5:23 as Middle Tennessee started quickly and coasted to a 69-51 victory over Howard on Tuesday night.

The Blue Raiders (5-6) jumped out to a 17-3 lead en route to a 34-14 halftime bulge, as the Bison (1-10) posted their second-lowest point total in a half this season.

Turnovers hurt Howard. The Blue Raiders parlayed 20 turnovers into 29 points. Howard got 14 points off 11 Middle Tennessee turnovers.

Howard never got closer than 16 points in the second half, even though Middle Tennessee went scoreless for nearly 6 minutes at one stretch. All but one of the 12 Blue Raiders who got into the game scored as Middle Tennessee had 36 bench points to Howard's 11.

Calvin Thompson scored 15 points to pace Howard, and Mike Phillips had 12.

Denver 84, Seattle 83
DENVER - Junior Andrew Hooper (Lakewood, Colo.) drained a three-pointer from the corner with 1.8 seconds left in the game to propel the University of Denver men's basketball team to an 84-83 victory over Seattle on Tuesday night at Magness Arena.

"All I asked was for these guys to never give up, and it paid off," head coach Joe Scott said. "I am proud of our ability to stick with the game. It's a Merry Christmas for the Pioneers."

The Pioneers (9-3, 2-0 SBC) trailed by two points with four seconds remaining after Seattle's Peter Harris went 1-for-2 from the free throw line. Junior forward Rob Lewis (Colorado Springs, Colo.) inbounded the ball from the baseline to sophomore guard Sabatino Chen (Louisville, Colo.), who immediately tipped a pass to Hooper in the corner for the game-winning basket.

Denver, which trailed 64-48 with 11:58 left in the game, chipped away at the deficit, but Seattle (6-7) maintained a five-point lead with 59 seconds left.

Layups by Chen, Lewis and sophomore guard Brian Stafford (Walnut Creek, Calif.) in the final minute brought the Pioneers to within striking distance for the shot by Hooper, who was named Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week earlier in the day.

Rohnert finished the night with a career-high 34 points, which gave him 1,049 points in his career and moved him into 24th on Denver's all-time scoring list.

With their third straight victory, the Pioneers extend their home winning streak to eight games.

Next, the Pioneers travel to Greeley, Colo., to take on in-state foe Northern Colorado (10-3) on Mon., Dec. 28 at 7 p.m.

Louisiana-Monroe 74, Harding 64
MONROE, La. (AP) - Rudy Turner and Tony Hooper each tallied a double-double in Louisiana-Monroe's 74-61 win over Harding on Tuesday night.

Turner had 21 points and 14 rebounds, and Hooper finished with 15 points and 10 boards as the Warhawks snapped a six-game losing streak.

Tommie Sykes added 13 points and seven rebounds off the bench for the Warhawks (4-8).

Hooper also had four steals, moving within four of tying Arthur Hayes (187) for third on ULM's all-time list.

The Warhawks trailed 35-34 at halftime and Harding took a 42-37 lead on Kirk Porter's jump shot with 15:16 to play.

ULM then went on a 14-2 run and led 51-44 on a three-point play by Tommie Sykes with 11:06 left.

The Warhawks shot 40.7 percent from the field (24 of 59) and the Bison (6-5) shot 34.6 percent (18 of 52).

Trent Morgan and Matt Garner scored 14 points each for Division II Harding.

Arkansas State 71, Mississippi Valley State 64
ITTA BENA, Miss. (AP) - Daniel Bryant scored 16 points and Arkansas State handed Mississippi Valley State its seventh straight loss 71-64 on Tuesday night.

Martavius Adams added 14 points, Trey Finn scored 13 and Jeremy Thomas 10 for the Red Wolves (5-5), who won for the second time in a row.

The Red Wolves had their best shooting night of the season, making 55.1 percent of their shots (27 for 49). Adams (6 for 6), Thomas (5 for 5) and Rashad Allison (4 for 4) all were perfect from the field.

Arkansas State jumped out to a 17-2 lead in the first half and led 45-35 at halftime. The Red Wolves held the lead throughout the second half and the Delta Devils got as close as 66-62 with 1:51 to play.

Julius Cheeks had a game-high 19 points for the Delta Devils (1-11). Shannon Behling added 13 points and Amos Studivant had 12.

Wright State 69, UALR 47
FAIRBORN, Ohio (AP) - Troy Tabler scored 16 points and Wright State won its second game in a row, 69-47 over Arkansas-Little Rock on Tuesday night.

The Raiders (8-4) jumped out to a 17-0 lead and led 21-1 before the Trojans made their first field goal with 9:37 to play in the first half. The Trojans committed seven turnovers and had two shots blocked during that span.

Wright State held the Trojans to 31 percent shooting (13-for-42) and forced 22 turnovers in the game, including 10 steals. Vaughn Duggins had four steals and four assists.

The Raiders' biggest lead of the game was 26 points at 63-37 with 5:14 to play.

The Trojans (4-9) lost their fourth straight game for the first time since February 2006. It was their seventh straight road loss, the longest road losing streak since dropping eight in a row eight years ago.

Alex Garcia-Mendoza led the Trojans with 21 points.

North Florida 64, New Orleans 49
GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) - Stan Januska scored 19 points and Germaine Sparkes added 13 points, leading North Florida over New Orleans 64-49 in the South Mississippi Christmas Classic on Tuesday night.

Johann Mpondo's layup put New Orleans up 6-5 less than 4 minutes into the game (AP) - it was the last time the Privateers would lead. Januska drilled a 3-pointer and dropped in a layup in quick succession, sparking an 18-0 North Florida run over the course of the next 11 minutes.

The Ospreys (3-7) led by 17 points at halftime and cruised to victory in the second. North Florida capitalized on 19 turnovers in the game.

Charles Carmouche was the only New Orleans (5-7) player in double figures, scoring 10.

The Ospreys have won two straight games for the first time this season. Prior to the current streak, North Florida had lost six in a row.

The Privateers are on a five game losing skid.

Sam Houston State 93, FIU 63
HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) - Gilberto Clavell scored 20 points and Preston Brown added 15 as Sam Houston State defeated Florida International 93-63 on Tuesday night.

The Bearkats (8-3) outscored the Golden Panthers 51-26 in the second half by shooting 19 of 25 (76 percent) from the floor.

Corey Allmond had 14 points and Josten Crow and Antuan Bootle 11 each for Sam Houston State.

Marvin Roberts scored 14 points and J.C. Otero 12 for FIU (4-11).

Monday, December 21

Tulane 73, Louisiana-Lafayette 70
LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) - David Booker scored 26 points, including knocking down a big 3-pointer with 40 seconds left, to lead Tulane to a 73-70 win over Louisiana on Monday night.

Booker, who finished 6 of 7 from long range, grabbed a pass that appeared to be headed out of bounds and nailed a 3 to put the Green Wave (4-7) up 70-66 in the final minute.

Tyren Johnson hit one free throw to pull the Ragin' Cajuns within three with 30 seconds left, but it wasn't enough. Tulane sank three foul shots in the final 25 minutes to seal it.

Randell Daigle put up a 3-pointer at the buzzer for Louisiana (4-6), but it rimmed out.

Kevin Sims added 15 points for Tulane. Booker also had three steals and a block.

Johnson scored 23 points to lead Louisiana, eclipsing 500 points for his career. Chris Gradnigo added a season-high 21 points.

Tulane hit 10 3s versus just five for Louisiana.

Southern Mississippi 78, New Orleans 58
GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) - Josimar Ayarza scored 16 points to lead four Southern Mississippi players in double figures in a 78-58 win over New Orleans on Monday night.

Gary Flowers scored 11 points and blocked seven shots for the Golden Eagles (8-1), who are off to their best start since an 8-1 beginning to the 2006 season.

Angelo Johnson added 15 points and Maurice Bolden had 13 for Southern Miss in the South Mississippi Christmas Classic.

The Privateers (5-6) shot just 29.6 percent from the field in the first half (8 of 27) and trailed 33-25 at halftime.

The Golden Eagles edged New Orleans 39-37 in rebounds and didn't trail in the second half.

New Orleans was led by Charles Carmouche with 17 points. The Privateers were just 3 of 21 from 3-point range and trailed by as many as 23 points in the second half.

North Florida defeated Canisius 65-61 in the early game.