NEW ORLEANS  - The University of New Orleans men's basketball team will open up the 2009-10 home campaign with a 7 p.m. contest on Thursday against Southern-New Orleans at Lakefront Arena.

The game will be broadcast on WGSO 990 AM or online at WGSO.com. Fans can also watch the game online at UNOPrivateers.com.

The Privateers (0-1) are coming off a narrow 67-59 loss at Georgia in their season opener last Friday. UNO got some standout performances, including a career-high 20 points from sophomore guard Charles Carmouche.

The New Orleans native did not score more than nine points in a game during his freshman season.

"We've been telling anyone who will listen how special a player Charles is going to be," said UNO head coach Joe Pasternack. "I think people got a glimpse against Georgia, but this young man has not even scratched the surface of how good he can be."

Junior center Jaroslav Tyrna scored 16 points and had seven rebounds, while senior transfer Billy Humphrey had 11 points against his former school.

Now UNO will turn its attention to the Knights (2-0). SUNO, an NAIA member and located just minutes from the UNO campus, has already picked up wins over Fisk University and Texas College.

Guards Lionel Green and Ricardo Porter are each averaging 17.5 points per game, while forward Ronald Palmer is grabbing nine rebounds per contest.

"Regardless of who we play, our game plan is going to be the same," Pasternack said. "We are going to play hard, and we are going to play with intensity for 40 minutes. I think fans will enjoy watching this team compete every single night."