Tulane University
Connecticut
Men's Basketball Falls Short Against UConn
Feb 7, 2015 | Men's Basketball
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NEW ORLEANS - Jay Hook, Louis Dabney and Jonathan Stark combined for 34 points for the Tulane men's basketball team on Saturday night, but it was not enough as visiting UConn edged the Green Wave, 62-53, in an American Athletic Conference game.
After a close game that featured 10 lead changes and seven ties over the first 35 minutes in front of 3,548 fans inside Fogelman Arena in Devlin Fieldhouse, the Huskies (13-9, 6-4 American) outlasted the Green Wave (13-10, 4-7 American) over the final five minutes of the game.
Tulane led 45-42 with 6:01 remaining in the game after a free throw by Hook, but UConn rattled off a 6-0 run to retake the lead, one they would not relinquish. The Huskies then pulled away and led, 55-46, with just over two minutes left after a 7-0 run all by Rodney Purvis. Tulane was able to cut the deficit back to six, but was not able to get any closer.
"First off I'd like to say thank you to the crowd," Tulane head coach Ed Conroy said. "It was the best crowd I've seen here since I've been here. They made this a great atmosphere tonight. I apologize that we could not come up with a win for them, but hopefully they will keep supporting this team like they did tonight.
"Secondly, I have to give credit to UConn," Conroy continued. "They were able to pull this game out when it counted. I do think we showed some signs of improvement even though the final score doesn't prove it."
The Green Wave led, 27-24, at halftime and held a lead for almost 19 minutes of the game.
Dabney led Tulane with 13 points, while Hook added 11 and Stark chipped in 10. Josh Hearlihy and Payton Henson each scored five points off the bench. Henson also grabbed a team-high six rebounds to lead the Green Wave to a 36-29 advantage on the boards.
Tulane shot 32.7 percent from the floor (18-55) and knocked down six three-pointers. The Green Wave went 11-of-17 from the free throw line as well.
With the Green Wave's six three-pointers in the game, the fans that were in attendance can take their ticket to a local Papa Johns on Wednesday for a $6 one topping large pizza or go online and use promo code 6for6.
UConn shot 50.0 percent from the floor (22-44) and knocked in four-of-nine three-pointers. The Huskies also connected on 14-of-19 from the line.
Tulane was forced into 16 turnovers and UConn had 10 steals. The Huskies converted those into 16 points.
UConn's Ryan Boatright led all scorers in the game with 18 points to go with a game-high nine rebounds. Purvis finished with 17 points off the bench and Daniel Hamilton added 11 points and eight rebounds.
Tulane will next travel to Ohio to face Cincinnati next Saturday at 1 p.m. CT. The Green Wave's next home game is Feb. 19 against UCF.
For more ticket information please contact Athletic Ticket Sales & Service at (504) 861-WAVE or online at www.TulaneGreenWave.com.
GAME NOTES
- Tonight's crowd of 3,548 is the largest at Devlin Fieldhouse since 3,795 attended the Green Wave's game vs. No. 1 Memphis on Feb. 20, 2008.
- With Jay Hook's first three-pointer of the game, the senior took over sole possession of third place on Tulane's career list. He finished the game with two three-pointers to give him 167 for his career.
- Hook scored in double figures for the 15th time this season and the 38th game of his career with 11 points tonight.
- Sophomore Jonathan Stark scored in double figures for the 15th time this season and the 42nd game of his career with 10 points tonight.
- Junior guard Louis Dabney scored in double figures for the 18th time this season and the 45th game of his career with 13 points tonight.
