THIBODAUX, La. - Zee Hamoda scored 19 points off the bench and had three of the Colonels' 10 three-pointers, but the Nicholls State University men's basketball team's skid continued Tuesday afternoon as New Orleans pulled away for an 80-62  win on Broussard Court inside Stopher Gymnasium.

Nicholls (8-13, 7-5 SLC) struggled to keep pace after falling behind by 10 at halftime and never seriously threatened in the second half as they dropped their fifth straight game. The Colonels shot just 36.1 percent from the field and were held to eight free throws. The defense picked up 12 steals off of 18 New Orleans (8-13, 6-6 SLC) turnovers, but the Privateers dominated inside with a 44-20 advantage in points in the paint and were plus-20 in rebounding.

Hamoda led Nicholls on 8-of-16 shooting and added seven rebounds after scoring a season-high 20 in the earlier win over the Privateers. Jalik Dunkley finished with 13 points and three steals, while Jaylen Searles added 12 points. Both Dunkley and Searles were limited in the first half due to foul trouble.

New Orleans (8-13, 6-6) was led by Churchill Abass, who had 20 points and eight rebounds. MJ Thomas scored 16 points and Jakevion Buckley added 14 as the Privateers shot 47.4 percent from the field and made 21 of 26 at the free throw line.

The Privateers built a double-digit lead late in the first half and opened the second with an extended run to push the margin to 14. The lead stayed in double figures for the entire second half.

The loss ended the Colonels' five-game winning streak in the series against UNO, which claimed their first win in Thibodaux since 2019.

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Nicholls returns to action Saturday with a road game at East Texas A&M.