Home NCAA College Jakevion Buckley’s Double-Double Not Enough as UNO Falls to Fresno State 85–76 in Road Loss

Jakevion Buckley’s Double-Double Not Enough as UNO Falls to Fresno State 85–76 in Road Loss

November 22, 2025
NCAA College, Team Coverage

STWF Sports | NEW ORLEANS | Nov. 21, 2025 – The University of New Orleans men’s basketball team showed plenty of fight on Friday night, but a blistering performance from Fresno State’s Jake Heidbreder proved too much to overcome. Despite a massive double-double from standout guard Jakevion Buckley, the Privateers fell 85–76 at the Save Mart Center, dropping to 2–3 on the season while the Bulldogs improved to 5–2.

Buckley delivered one of the finest performances of his young career, pouring in a season-high 23 points on an efficient 9-of-16 shooting night and dominating the glass for a career-best 14 rebounds. It marked his second double-double in the last three contests, placing him alongside Texas A&M–Corpus Christi’s Sheldon Williams as the only Southland Conference players with multiple double-doubles this season.

But every time UNO made a run, Fresno State’s Heidbreder answered—again and again.

Heidbreder’s Career Night Stops Privateers’ Rally

The redshirt senior guard lit up the scoreboard with a career-high 33 points, shooting a remarkable 11-of-13 from the field, including 4-of-6 from deep and a steady 7-of-8 at the foul line. Every time the Privateers trimmed the deficit or built momentum, Heidbreder was there to halt their surge.

UNO trailed by as many as 11 late in the first half before mounting an energetic run led by Buckley, MJ Thomas, and Kedrick Osby. A combination of free throws and attacking the rim cut the Bulldogs’ lead to three with under three minutes left in the half. The Privateers then held Fresno State without a field goal for the closing six minutes of the period, eventually going to halftime down just 40–36.

That defensive stand gave UNO life, but Heidbreder simply had too many answers in the second half.

After Thomas split a pair of free throws to bring the Privateers within 74–70 with just over three minutes left, Heidbreder immediately responded with a second-chance layup on the other end. From there, he calmly sank five free throws in the closing minutes as the Bulldogs pulled away.

Contributions on Both Sides

While Buckley headlined the stat sheet, the Privateers had several bright spots:

MJ Thomas continued his strong play since re-entering the starting lineup, adding 16 points and eight rebounds, showing improved physicality and consistency.
TJ Cope, earning the first start of his college career, set the tone early by scoring UNO’s first six points and finishing with a career-high nine points on 4-of-8 shooting in 26 solid minutes.
UNO matched Fresno State on the glass 36–36 and forced the Bulldogs into six turnovers, but Fresno’s shooting edge (47% to UNO’s 43%) and Heidbreder’s individual brilliance made the difference.

Fresno State also received a key performance from guard Zaon Collins, who flirted with a triple-double, posting 14 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists, controlling the tempo and distributing effectively.

Looking Ahead

The Privateers now return briefly to New Orleans before heading back on the road for another challenging matchup. UNO travels to Starkville on Monday night to face Mississippi State, continuing a demanding nonconference stretch designed to harden the team ahead of Southland play.

Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m., with live coverage on SEC Network+, ESPN+, and 106.1 Heaven FM.

UNO showed resilience and gained meaningful contributions across its rotation Friday—but as Fresno State proved, sometimes a special performance from a star player is enough to swing the night. The Privateers will look to regroup quickly as they take on another set of Bulldogs next week.