Privateers Beat Savannah State

December 14, 2007
NEW ORLEANS, La- Bo McCaleeb scored 20 points while T. J. Worley added 14 points and 10 rebounds off the bench as New Orleans improved to 7-1 with a 71-56 victory over Savannah State.

Despite the 16 point difference in the final score, the crowd of 473 saw a game that had five ties and three lead changes.

The teams traded baskets for most of the first half. Savannah State led by four points early in the period but UNO was always in arms length.

With the scored tied at 16 with 7:36 left, the Privateers went on a 7-2 spurt to grab a five point advantage. SSU answered back with a jumper from Joe Flegler and a 3-pointer by Chris Linton to close the gap to 24-23 with 3:57 on the clock.

New Orleans finished the half on a 10-4 run and led 34-27 at the break.

UNO used its size to out-score the Tigers 22-12 in the paint and had a 22-9 rebounding edge. Savannah State shot 52.4 percent from the floor in the first half.

Patrick Hardy started the second half with back-to-back 3-pointers that pulled Savannah State to within 34-33 but the Privateers reeled off nine straight points to push their lead to 10 with 13:07 left.

A pair of field goals and a free throw by Linton cut UNO's lead to seven but the Privateers scored eight unanswered points to extend their lead to 53-38 with 8:41 left in the contest.

New Orleans maintained their double-digit lead the rest of the way and SSU could only get as close as 11 on a Raye Bailey jumper with 1:56 remaining.

SSU (6-8), which went 8-for-21 from the field in the second half, received a 16-point, five rebound effort from Linton. Bailey had nine points and four assists while the 5-10 Flegler came off the bench to contribute seven points and seven rebounds.

Also playing in the game was 6-10 transfer Cedric Kalombo. he did not score in his 17 minutes of action but did have a game-high three blocks.