NATCHITOCHES, La. (AP)—Kyndall Dykes scored 19 points and Bo McCalebb added 16 to lead New Orleans to a 72-66 win over Northwestern State on Wednesday.
The Privateers (1-0) let an eight-point second-half lead slip away before outscoring Northwestern State 14-3 in the final 4:28 to open the season with the win. It marked the first time since Nov. 29, 1974, that New Orleans opened its season with a road victory.
New Orleans was in command for the first 25 minutes—jumping out to as much as a nine-point lead in the first half before holding onto a 47-39 lead with 16:20 left. However, the Demons got hot from the 3-point line, making five 3-pointers in the first 12 minutes of the second half.
Northwestern State grabbed its first lead since the game’s opening minutes following a Gerrell Thomas 3-pointer that gave the Demons a 57-54 advantage.
But the Privateers rallied back. McCalebb got it started with a steal of an inbounds pass and a layup with 3:18 remaining. He then had a transition dunk to boost the score to 68-65.
After the Demons’ Trey Gilder cut the deficit to 68-66, Dykes made a circus layup while being fouled to make it 70-66.
Northwestern State (0-4) got 16 points from Keithan Hancock and 10 from Thomas.
