Tulane University
4-1
Southeastern Louisiana
1-5
Men's Basketball Holds Off SLU, 71-61
Nov 28, 2014 | Men's Basketball
NEW ORLEANS - Louis Dabney scored 18 of his 19 points in the first half to help the Tulane men's basketball team outlast visiting Southeastern Louisiana, 71-61, on Friday night at Devlin Fieldhouse as part of the Tulane Classic.
In addition to Dabney's total, Jay Hook added 16 points and Jonathan Stark chipped in with 12 to lead the Green Wave (4-1) to a fourth straight win and hold off the Lions (1-5).
Three-pointers rained down in Devlin during the opening half as both teams combined to shoot 15-of-25 to make the game seem like it would be a shootout. Tulane knocked down seven-of-14 threes in the opening 20 minutes, including three each from Dabney and Hook, while SLU drained eight-of-11 with Zay Jackson's four and Joshua Filmore's three leading the attack.
Both teams also shot over 50 percent from the floor in the opening half. Tulane connected on 16-of-30 (53.3 percent) and SLU hit 14-of-24 (58.3 percent). The Green Wave did build as much as a 10-point lead, 42-32, with less than four minutes remaining in the half and went on to hold a 43-37 lead at the break.
"First of all credit Southeastern," Tulane head coach Ed Conroy said. "They came out with great energy. I was proud of our team because even with a team coming out that hot and playing that well we still had a six point lead at halftime. We didn't dig ourselves and hole."
The second half proved to be much different. Neither team was able to knock down a three-pointer in a combined 15 attempts and both teams shot an exact same nine-of-24 (37.5 percent) from the floor. Tulane gained the second-half advantage by making 10-of-12 free throws, including a seven-of-eight performance from Hook.
"I thought as the game went on that we would eventually get under their legs and I think we did," Conroy added. "They were zero-of-10 in the second half from three."
Tulane's largest lead in the second half was 13 points on numerous occasions and after the Green Wave gained a double digit advantage again, 55-45, with 13:34 left in the game, the Lions only cut the deficit under 10, three times.
The Green Wave outrebounded the Lions, 32-26, and were led by freshman Dylan Osetkowski's career-high nine. Sophomores Kajon Mack and Payton Henson each added five boards off the bench. Osetkowski added six points to his rebounding effort, while Henson poured in nine points.
Jackson led the Lions with a game-high 22 points, while Filmore added 13.
Tulane completes the Tulane Classic on Sunday when they host Tennessee Tech at Devlin Fieldhouse for a 1 p.m. CT tip on ESPN3. The game follows Southeastern Louisiana against Langston that tips at 10:50 a.m. CT.
Season ticket prices for Tulane's inaugural season in The American are $300 for premium chairback seating, $200 for bleacher seating, and $400 for the family zone (2 adult/2 youth for both men's and women's basketball seasons). In addition, men's basketball season ticket holders will have the exclusive opportunity to purchase half-priced women's season tickets.
For additional information, call the Tulane Ticket Office at (504) 861-WAVE (9283), reserve your seats on-line at www.TulaneGreenWave.com, or visit the Tulane Team Shop in person on the ground floor of the James W. Wilson, Jr. Center Monday thru Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
GAME NOTES
- Junior guard Louis Dabney scored in double figures for the fourth time this season and the 31st game of his career with 19 points tonight.
- Sophomore guard Jonathan Stark scored in double figures for the third time this season and the 30th game of his career with 12 points tonight.
- Senior guard Jay Hook scored in double figures for the fourth time this season and the 27th game of his career with 16 points tonight.
- Freshman Dylan Osetkowski pulled down a career-best nine rebounds.
