Tulane University
10-4, 1-1AAC
Tulsa
9-5, 2-0AAC
Men’s Basketball Drops Conference Tilt to Tulsa, 65-56
Dec 31, 2017 | Men's Basketball
NEW ORLEANS - Cameron Reynolds scored 15 points and recorded his 500th career rebound, but the Tulane men's basketball team dropped its American Athletic Conference home opener, 65-56, to Tulsa on Sunday afternoon at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse.
Melvin Frazier also reached double-figures for the 13th time this season with 11 points, while Blake Paul blocked six shots. Samir Sehic added eight points off the bench for Tulane (10-4, 1-1 AAC).
Tulsa (9-5, 2-0 AAC) placed four scorers in double digits, led by Martins Igbanu's 15 points and game-high nine rebounds, while Sterling Taplin also poured in 15. Junior Etou contributed 14 points and six boards, while Curran Scott provided 11 points, six rebounds and three assists off the bench.
The Golden Hurricane owned a 52-30 rebounding advantage while outscoring the Green Wave, 30-20, in the paint and and 10-1 on second chance baskets.
Both teams got off to slow starts offensively, with Tulsa making just two of its first nine shots and Tulane hitting one of its first 10, but the Green Wave would hit five of its next seven with a combined four points off the bench from Colin Slater and Sehic, respectively, despite trailing 17-15 with 7:53 left in the first half.
The Golden Hurricane went through a shooting drought of its own from that point, missing nine straight shots over a span of nearly four minutes, while a Reynolds three-point play with 5:30 remaining tied the game at 18. Following a pair of free throws by Bul Ajang, Tulsa scored nine straight points to pull ahead, 27-20, and forcing the Green Wave to call a timeout with 2:24 left.
The only points scored in the final two-plus minutes of the half came on a trey by Jordan Cornish to send the Wave into the locker room at halftime trailing by just four.
Tulane shot 8-for-26 (.308) from the field, 3-for-14 (.214) beyond the 3-point line and 4-for-6 (.667) at the free throw line, while Tulsa went 9-for-31 (.290) on the floor, 3-for-11 (.273) from outside and 6-for-8 (.750) at the foul stripe.
The Green Wave showed a sense of urgency with the start of the second half using a quick, 9-4 scoring edge to retake the lead, 32-31, with 16:35 left in the game. The Golden Hurricane clamped down however, pulling back in front, 42-36, over the next four minutes of action after an Igbanu layup at the 12:27 mark.
Tulane's deficit grew to as large as nine on a Taplin bucket with 7:13 to go, but a Cornish triple and Sehic jumper brought the Wave back within four with just under six minutes remaining. Tulsa would not let margin grow any tighter however, pushing their lead to a game-high 10 points in the final 30 seconds before closing out the nine-point road victory.
The Green Wave finished the day shooting 21-for-59 (.356) overall, 7-for-27 (.259) beyond the arc and 7-for-13 (.538) at the foul line, while the Golden Hurricane went a nearly identical 21-for-58 (.362) from the field, 4-for-20 (.200) from outside and 19-for-23 (.826) at the stripe.
Tulane begins the New Year at home to host SMU on Thursday, Jan. 4. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. (CT) and the game will be televised nationally on ESPNU.
