Men's Basketball Sinks USF Behind Kain Harris' 27 Points

Wednesday, January 11

Tampa, FL

6 p.m. CT

Tulane University

4-12 (1-3)

USF

6-9 (0-4)

Tulane

USF

Photo by: Parker Waters

Men's Basketball Sinks USF Behind Kain Harris' 27 Points

Jan 11, 2017 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

TAMPA, Fla. – Kain Harris led four Tulane players in double-figures with a career-high 27 points, as the Green Wave earned its first American Athletic Conference victory of the season, 82-67, over USF on Wednesday evening at the Sun Dome.

Harris did his damage in just 25 minutes, making seven shots from the floor, a trio of three-pointers and hit 10 of 11 free throws. Cameron Reynolds scored 14 points and grabbed six rebounds, Ryan Smith shot 4-for-4 from the field to finish with 11 points and Blake Paul added 10 points, three boards and two assists off the bench. Malik Morgan dished out a career-high eight assists.

Geno Thorpe led the Bulls with 16 points, while Ruben Guerrero and Luis Santos also reached double-digit scoring with 12 points apiece.

The Green Wave was aggressive and efficient at both ends of the floor from the opening tip, jumping out to an 11-2 lead with a 9-0 scoring run capped by a Frazier three-pointer before the Bulls burned their first timeout at the 16:29 mark.

Tulane (4-12, 1-3 AAC) extended the margin to 10 points, 14-4, but a 9-2 counter by USF (6-9, 0-4 AAC) brought its deficit to just three with 11:58 to go. The Bulls kept their momentum and pulled in front for the first time, 20-19, on a pair of free throws at the nine-minute mark, but Harris came off the bench and scored nine points on a pair of triples and three free throws in just five minutes as part of a 13-7 scoring rush to put the Wave back on top, 32-27, with 5:42 left in the first half.

Harris connected on another three with 3:32 remaining to put Tulane up by six, 37-31, but USF was able to close within two points before the end of the half, as the Green Wave took a 40-38 advantage into halftime.

With the game tied at 47 at the 14:43 mark of the second half, the Green Wave broke the game open with a 10-0 run, including five straight makes by four different players over a span of 1:46 down to the 12:37 mark to push the lead back to double digits, 57-47.

USF got the deficit back into single digits on a handful of occasions, but drew no closer than eight with the score 61-53 and 7:38 remaining, as Tulane extended the margin back over 10 points by making 14 of 17 free throws in the second half to seal the 15-point victory.

The Green Wave finished the night shooting 26-for-55 (.473) overall, 7-for-23 (.304) beyond the arc and 23-for-29 (.793) at the foul line, while the Bulls went 23-for-52 (.442) on the floor, 4-for-14 (.286) from deep and 17-for-26 (.654) at the stripe.

Tulane outscored USF, 22-10, in the paint and 41-23 off the bench, while the Bulls owned a 34-28 advantage in the paint and an 11-8 edge in second-chance points.

The Green Wave will return home to host SMU in conference action on Sunday, Jan. 15. Opening tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse, and the game will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network.