Tulane University
5-1
Tennessee Tech
3-3
Men's Basketball Earns Hard Fought Win Over Tennessee Tech
Nov 30, 2014 | Men's Basketball
NEW ORLEANS - It wasn't an easy task on Sunday afternoon, but the Tulane men's basketball team was able to extend their winning streak to five games with a hard fought, 73-68, victory over visiting Tennessee Tech at Devlin Fieldhouse in the final game of the Tulane Classic.
Sophomore Jonathan Stark led the Green Wave (5-1) with 14 points and seven assists, while junior Louis Dabney had 12 points, senior Jay Hook added 11 and sophomore Ryan Smith chipped in with a career-high 10 points. Freshman Dylan Osetkowski and sophomore Payton Henson each scored eight points in the win.
"There is still a lot of room for growth on this team and a lot of things to figure out, but I like how aggressive we played at times today," Tulane head coach Ed Conroy said. "We played a very good opponent in Tennessee Tech and our guys played some pretty good basketball themselves."
Stark got the scoring started with a three-pointer just over a minute into the game and a couple of lay-ups by Smith gave Tulane a, 7-4, advantage, but Tennessee Tech (3-3) claimed their first lead, 9-7, after scoring five straight points. A three-pointer by Hook answered the Golden Eagles run and the Green Wave held the lead the remainder of the half and owned a, 40-33, lead at the break, the largest margin of the opening 20 minutes.
Tulane scored the first five points of the second half on jumpers from Dabney and Hook and a free throw by Smith to establish a double digit lead, 45-33. Tennessee Tech then scored 13 of the next 17 point and cut their deficit to three, 49-46, with less than 15 minutes remaining. A Dabney three-pointer seconds later shifted the momentum back to the Green Wave, whose lead hovered around seven points for the next eight minutes.
Tennessee Tech, a member of the Ohio Valley Conference, then used a 10-2 to take their second lead of the game, 66-65, with 3:46 left, but senior Tre Drye's lone basket of the contest on a tip-in, made that lead shorted lived.
A pair of lay-ups from sophomore Cameron Reynolds and a jumper by Stark built the Green wave lead back to seven, 73-66, before TTU scored the final points with 0:11 remaining to get to the final score.
Tulane shot 53.4 percent from the floor, including knocking down 17-of-27 (63.0) percent in the first half. The Green Wave also hit six-of-18 three-pointers and made five-of-seven from the free throw line.
The Golden Eagles connected on 45.6 percent of their field goals, hit five-of-18 threes and 11-of-16 free throws.
Both teams pulled down 31 rebounds, including a team-high six by Osetkowski and five by Henson.
Charles Jackson led TTU with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Torrance Rowe had 16 points as well and Dwan Caldwell finished with 15.
The Green Wave will hit the road for the first time this season on Wednesday when they travel to Loyola-Chicago for a 7 p.m. CT tip. Tulane will return home for a Saturday tilt with SEC foe Mississippi State. That game will tip at 1 p.m. CT to precede the 6:30 p.m. CT season-finale football game against Temple at Yulman Stadium.
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
- Sophomore Kajon Mack started for the first time this season and eighth time of his career.
- Senior Jay Hook's one three-pointers in today's game give him 12 for the season and 129 for his career, moving him seventh-place on Tulane's career list, surpassing Michael Christian's 129 from 1989-91.
- Sophomore guard Jonathan Stark scored in double figures for the fourth time this season and the 31st game of his career with 14 points today.
- Junior guard Louis Dabney scored in double figures for the fifth time this season and the 32nd game of his career with 12 points today.
- Sophomore center Ryan Smith scored in double figures for the first time this season and his career with 10 points today. His 10 points is a career-high.
- Senior guard Jay Hook scored in double figures for the fifth time this season and the 28th game of his career with 11 points today.
