NEW ORLEANS -- Christavious Gill scored 17 points and New Orleans beat in-state rival Nicholls State 74-53 Monday night for its third straight win.

New Orleans scored 24 of the final 30 points of the first half to take a 39-21 lead and was never threatened in the second.

The Privateers forced 30 turnovers and turned them into 26 points.

Erik Thomas, Nate Frye and Michael Zeno added 11 points apiece for New Orleans (8-12, 4-5 Southland).

K.C. Caudill led Nicholls State (5-18, 1-8) with 11 points. Liam Thomas, who entered the game with a conference-best two blocks per game, swatted five shots. The Colonels made just 15 of 43 from the field (35 percent) and missed 12 of their 32 free-throw attempts.

Nicholls State dropped its seventh consecutive game and has not won a road contest in 332 days.