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HATTIESBURG - LSU New Orleans junior
Solomon Ominu had a night to remember as the Privateers pulled away from the Southern Miss Golden Eagles 82-72 in a Wednesday night exhibition at Reed Green Coliseum.
Ominu finished with 13 rebounds and nine points. He was a perfect 3-of-3 from the floor and knocked down 3-of-4 free throws, including a pair with 1:30 left in the game to extend the Privateers' lead back to eight and stymie the Southern Miss comeback.
His biggest rebound of the night was a tap-out offensive rebound with just under two minutes remaining to keep a Privateer possession alive and allow
Nick Jones to finish in traffic extending the Privateers lead back to eight.
A corner 3-pointer from
Cham Okey gave the Privateers their first lead of the second half, 40-39, with just over 13 minutes left. Four minutes later,
Kahlil Singleton knocked down another triple, and suddenly the Privateers' lead had swelled to double digits - 59-49 with 9:35 remaining.
Southern Miss fought back, and after a loose-ball scramble on the Privateers' end turned into a long pass and dunk from Brandon Weston, New Orleans' lead was cut to two with 6:35 to play.
A 3-pointer, a fast-break steal and a right-handed dunk, all from
Kedrick Osby, ended the Southern Miss rally and restored the Privateers' 10-point lead with 5:29 to play. Osby finished with 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the floor with 12 of his points coming during the second half..
Southern Miss got no closer than six points the rest of the way as the Privateers made their free throws late and continued last season's trend of winning on the road.
A back-and-forth first half saw nine lead changes and seven ties, with the Golden Eagles ahead 30-29 at the break.
Nick Jones and Ominu were bright spots for the Privateers in the first half, with Jones scoring his first 12 points on four made baskets to go with a pair of steals.
Ominu had a very active first half on the defensive end as well, pulling down eight rebounds and altering the shots of several USM players at the rim but being credited with only a single block. Both teams defended well in the opening frame, holding their foes to under 40% shooting from the floor.
Jones finished the game with a team-high 19 points on 5-of-16 shooting and was 7-of-11 from the free-throw line. The Wagner transfer also finished with three steals and a pair of blocks.
Kahlil Singleton added 13 points with three made 3-pointers and was a perfect 4-of-4 from the free-throw line.
NEXT UP
The regular season kicks off with a trip to Baton Rouge to take on the LSU Tigers on Nov. 3. Tipoff from Pete Maravich Assembly Center is set for 7:00 p.m. with the game airing on SEC Network+ and locally on 106.7 The Ticket.
ABOUT LSU NEW ORLEANS
In July of 2026 the University of New Orleans rejoined the LSU system and rebranded to "LSU New Orleans" bringing together two powerful brands - the purple and gold of LSU with the unbreakable spirit of New Orleans. The transition marks a return to the LSU family for the University - a place it called home from 1958-2011. Athletic teams will remain the Privateers and continue to compete in the Southland Conference.
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