McDonald scores 24, Carmouche adds 21 as New Orleans sinks Louisiana-Monroe 82-73

New Orleans beats Louisiana-Monroe 82-73

MONROE, La. — Devin McDonald scored 24 points and Charles Carmouche added 21, leading New Orleans to an 82-73 win over Louisiana-Monroe on Thursday night.

New Orleans (8-18, 3-12 Sun Belt Conference) came out of halftime with a 10-3 run to take a 54-35 lead 5 minutes into the second half. But the Warhawks surged back, using an 11-0 run to cut the deficit to 54-46 with just under 11 minutes to play.

However, the Warhawks made just two field goals in the next 7 minutes as New Orleans held an 11-point lead, 66-55, as the clock ticked under 3 minutes.

Louisiana-Monroe trimmed the lead to 77-71 with 32 seconds left, but New Orleans made 5 of 6 free throws down the stretch.

Lawrence Gilbert paced the Warhawks (11-16, 6-10) with 18 points.

New Orleans shot 61.7 percent from the floor (29-for-47) compared to 45.8 percent (22-for-48) for the Warhawks.