Men's Basketball's Comeback Falls Short at Tulsa, 89-82

Wednesday, January 18

Tulsa, OK

6:30 p.m. CT

Tulane University

4-14 (1-5AAC)

Tulsa

10-7 (4-1AAC)

Tulane

Tulsa

Men's Basketball's Comeback Falls Short at Tulsa, 89-82

Jan 18, 2017 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

NEW ORLEANS – Cameron Reynolds registered his second double-double of the season and led four Green Wave players in double figures with 20 points, but the Tulane men's basketball team suffered an 89-82 setback at Tulsa in American Athletic Conference play Wednesday night at the Reynolds Center.

Reynolds eclipsed the 20-point threshold for the sixth time this season and matched a career-high with 12 rebounds, while Kain Harris added 15 points off the bench. Melvin Frazier contributed 14 points, while Ray Ona Embo chipped in 10 points, five assists and four rebounds for a Tulane (4-14, 1-5 AAC) team that shot 18-for-35 (.514) in the second half.

The Green Wave scored 54 points in the final 20 minutes – its largest scoring output in a half this season – while the team's 12 three-pointers made tied a season high.

Tulsa (10-7, 4-1 AAC) was led by Sterling Taplin's game-high 24 points, six rebounds and five assists, while Pat Birt scored 19 points and Jaleel Wheeler added 11. The Golden Hurricane owned a 36-28 scoring advantage in the paint and 26-23 edge off the bench.

The Green Wave used effective ball movement to space out the Golden Hurricane defense early on, as the Wave made four of its first six shots. Ona Embo and Frazier each scored five points apiece for Tulane's first 10 points, and the scoring run extended to 12-straight points for a 15-3 lead with 14:51 remaining in the first half.

Tulsa countered with an 11-2 run of its own over the subsequent three minutes of action to cut its deficit to just three points, before tying the game at 19 apiece at the 9:44 mark. The Golden Hurricane would score seven-straight points to create a 24-19 advantage with 8:46 to go in the period.

Tulane fell behind by double digits for the first time, 33-23, on a Taplin layup with 4:35 remaining and only closed back within eight points once, before Tulsa took a 42-28 lead into the halftime locker rooms on another Taplin basket just one second before the horn.

The Green Wave shot 10-for-34 (.294) overall, 2-for-11 (.182) from three and 6-for-9 (.667) at the free throw line, while the Golden Hurricane went 18-for-33 (.545) on the floor and 3-for-11 (.273) from range, while connecting on three of five free throws.

Tulane got off to a hot start in the second half, making seven of its first 11 shots from the field, but trailed, 55-43, with 14:24 left to play.

The Green Wave exhibited a sense of urgency and picked up the pace through the middle portion of the period, cutting its double-digit deficit in half on consecutive three-pointers by Harris and Malik Morgan to pull within five points, 63-58, at the 8:21 mark.

The Golden Hurricane extended its advantage back to double digits again with seven-straight points from that point down to the 6:42 mark, but the Tulane rally was on from the point, as they unleashed a flurry of threes in the final two minutes to draw as close as six points, 79-73, on a Frazier triple with 1:30 left. Tulsa would knock down their free throws in the closing moments and held on for the seven-point victory.

Tulane will return home to host Cincinnati for its next conference tilt on Saturday, Jan. 21. Opening tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse, and the game will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network.