New Orleans Privateers

Thomas scores 24; New Orleans beats Abilene Christian 75-66 (Dec 29, 2016)

Published Dec. 29, 2016 11:19 p.m. ET

NEW ORLEANS (AP) Erik Thomas scored 24 points and New Orleans pulled away in the final 6:45 to beat Abilene Christian 75-66 on Thursday night in a Southland Conference opener.

The Privateers (6-6, 1-0) were down nine points at halftime, but opened the second half on a 26-15 spurt, capped by Michael Zeno's 3-point play, to take a 56-54 lead. The Wildcats led 59-58 with about seven minutes left before Nate Frye made a 3-pointer, sparking New Orleans on a 17-7 run to end it. Frye scored eight of his 10 points during the stretch, while Thomas added six points.

Thomas was 8 of 14 from the field, made 8 of 11 free throws and grabbed eight rebounds.

Jaren Lewis scored 19 points and had eight rebounds to lead Abilene Christian (6-6, 0-1). Jalone Friday chipped in 10 points.

Get more from New Orleans Privateers Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

New Orleans Privateers

Abilene Christian Wildcats