
Men's Basketball Falls Short Against Temple
Jan 7, 2015 | Men's Basketball
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NEW ORLEANS - It was a valiant effort by the Tulane men's basketball team in front of a vocal crowd at Devlin Fieldhouse on Wednesday night, but the Green Wave fell to American Athletic Conference foe Temple, 64-56, in a battle of first-place teams.
The Green Wave (11-4, 2-1 American) couldn't hold off Temple's (12-4, 3-0 American) last run of the game. Tulane erased a 10-point deficit and tied the game for the third time, 51-51, with 4:48 remaining, but the Owls answered with a 7-0 run to jump back on top, 58-51, two minutes later. Tulane wasn't able to get closer than four points the rest of way.
"Both teams played really hard tonight," Tulane head coach Ed Conroy said. "There were a lot of deflections and loose balls and it seemed like Temple came up with a lot of those so give credit to them. It was not because our guys were not playing hard or hustling and maybe some of the breaks went against us, but I'm very proud of our guys. We got to 51-51 and that gave us a chance to win, but shots didn't go in. We just have to find a way to win when things don't quite go our way."
Tulane opened the game by scoring 11 of the first 14 points and held an 11-3 lead less than four minutes in, but Temple chipped away over the next four minutes to take their first lead of the game, 16-15. The lead changed hands three more times before the Green Wave jump back on top and held a, 27-25, advantage at the break.
Senior Jay Hook, junior Louis Dabney and freshman Dylan Osetkowski combined to score 39 of the Green Wave's 56 points. Hook led the way with 14, including four three-pointers, while Osetkowski added a career-high 13 and Dabney posted 12.
Temple's got 57 of its 64 points from the starting five, including a game-high 15 from Quenton DeCosey.
Neither team shot well from the field. Tulane connected on 21-of-61 shots from the floor (34.4 percent), while Temple hit 22-of-59 shots (37.3 percent). The Owls won the rebound battle, 45-37, and collected 19 on the offensive end that led to 15 second chance points. Tulane had 14 offensive boards that were converted into 14 second chance points.
Senior Tre Drye had a team-high eight rebounds for Tulane, while Osetkowski pulled down seven boards. Sophomore Jonathan Stark added a career-best 12 assists in the loss as well.
The Green Wave connected on just six-of-24 three-pointers, but with the six three-pointers the fans that were in attendance at Devlin Fieldhouse on Wednesday night can take their ticket to a local Papa Johns on Thursday for a $6 one topping large pizza or go online and use promo code 6for6.
Tulane will return to the court on Sunday at 2 p.m. CT for a conference match-up against USF at Devlin Fieldhouse.
Single game tickets and flex plans are available now. The five game flex plan starts at $70, 10 game flex plan begins at $125. Single game tickets start at only $10.
For additional information, contact the Tulane Team Shop ticket office in person on the first floor of the James W. Wilson, Jr. Center Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Information is also available over the phone at 504-861-WAVE (9283) or online at www.tulanegreenwave.com
GAME NOTES
- Freshman Dylan Osetkowski scored in double figures for the third time this season with 13 points tonight. His 13 points are a career-high.
- Sophomore guard Jonathan Stark dished out 12 assists in the game, marking the first double figure assist game of his career. He is also the first Green Wave player to collected double figure assists since Jordan Callahan had 12 on March 2, 2011 against Houston.
- Senior guard Jay Hook scored in double figures for the 11th time this season and the 34th game of his career with 14 points tonight.
- Junior guard Louis Dabney scored in double figures for the 10th time this season and the 37th game of his career with 12 points tonight.