NEW ORLEANS – Kevin Hill and Christavious Gill each scored 21 points and UNO scored 40 points in the paint as the Privateers surged ahead for an 81-71 Southland Conference win over McNeese State Monday night.
 
The loss was the second straight suffered by McNeese as it fell to 9-13 overall and 3-8 in league play. UNO snapped a 3-game losing streak to improve to 7-13 on the season and 3-8 in the Southland.
 
Desharick Guidry and Keelan Garrett each scored 20 to lead the Cowboys. Guidry scored 18 of his points in the second half after netting just two points in the first. He ended the game with a team-high nine rebounds. Shaun Johnson added 12 points.
 
McNeese trailed 35-30 at the half but led by as many as eight points at 13-5 five minutes into the game. UNO rallied and took its first lead at 19-18 with 10:38 to play then scored the last six points of the half behind back-to-back 3s from Gill.
 
Garrett hit a 3 to start the second half but UNO responded with four straight points to take a 39-33 lead with 18:14 to play. That's when Guidry started to take charge by hitting a layup then a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 1 at 39-38.
 
Garrett's second three of the half tied the game at 43-43 with 15:52 to play and after UNO went back ahead by 2 points at 45-43 with 14:53 to go, McNeese put together a 9-2 run behind a couple of free throws and layup by Guidry then a 3-pointer from Johnson to make it 52-47 Pokes with 11:37 to play.
 
The game went back-and-forth until the 5:06 mark when a Guidry layup tied the game at 62-all. From that time until 1:27 to play, UNO would hold McNeese scoreless while running off a 7-0 run to make it 69-62. Garrett's 3 with 1:27 to go snapped the drought and closed the gap to 4 points at 69-65. UNO would then hit all 10 of its free throws with 1:10 to play to put the game away.
 
McNeese hit 43.3 percent (26 of 60) from the field and was 9 of 24 (37.5 percent) from 3-point range. The Cowboys knocked down 10 of 15 from the free throw line for 66.7 percent.
 
UNO sank 58.7 percent (27 of 46) of its shots and was 15 of 25 for 60 percent in the second half. The Privateers hit 5 of 8 from long range and did not attempt one in the second half. They finished hitting 22 of 29 from the free throw line.
 
New Orleans outscored the Cowboys in the paint by a 40-30 margin.
 
McNeese returns home on Saturday when it hosts Northwestern State at 3 p.m.