East Texas A&M Men’s Basketball Falls to New Orleans 83-73

Courtesy of Avi Mehta

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (TXAN 24) – East Texas A&M University couldn’t complete a late rally Monday night, falling 83-73 to the New Orleans Privateers at Lakefront Arena. Despite a 12-0 run in the final five minutes, the Lions never caught up.

The Privateers jumped out to a 5-0 lead and never trailed, holding East Texas A&M to just five points in the opening 10 minutes. The Lions responded with a 9-3 stretch to cut the deficit to six, fueled by six first-half three-pointers.

In the second half, East Texas A&M closed within one possession on a 9-2 run with 15:12 remaining. New Orleans countered with a 6-0 spurt and extended their lead to a game-high 65-50 at 7:51. The Lions fought back, holding the Privateers scoreless for nearly four minutes and trimming the lead to 69-66, but New Orleans scored the next eight points to end the comeback threat.

Ronnie Harrison (Forney) posted a season-high 29 points and 12 rebounds, while Damian Garcia (Houston-Dobie) added 18 points and Vinny Sigona (Prestonwood Christian) contributed 12 off the bench. Gianni Hunt (Lakewood, Calif.) led the Lions with seven assists. Coleton Benson scored 17 points for New Orleans, going 10-for-11 from the free-throw line.

The Lions drop to 6-10 overall, 1-5 in Southland play, while the Privateers improve to 5-10 and 3-3 in the league. East Texas A&M returns home to host A&M-Corpus Christi on Saturday at 5 p.m. and again Monday at 6:30 p.m.