Men's Basketball Falls to UC Irvine in Gulf Coast Showcase Semifinal

Tuesday, November 20

Estero, Fla.

4 PM

Tulane University

2-2

UC Irvine

6-0

UC Irvine

Tulane

Men's Basketball Falls to UC Irvine in Gulf Coast Showcase Semifinal

Nov 20, 2018 | Men's Basketball

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ESTERO, Fla. – The Tulane men's basketball team got off to another one of its hot starts and played strong defense down the stretch, but UC Irvine used an early second-half scoring surge to top the Green Wave, 67-55, in the semifinals of the Gulf Coast Showcase Tuesday evening at Hertz Arena.

Caleb Daniels led Tulane (2-2) in scoring for the third straight game with 14 points to go with three rebounds and a game-high five assists.

Collin Welp paced the Anteaters with 15 points and four assists with three 3-pointers made, while John Edgar, Jr., tallied 13 points.

The Green Wave got the offense going early, using a 10-0 scoring run over a span of two and a half minutes to create a 12-2 lead, forcing UC Irvine (6-0) to call its first timeout at the 15:29 mark.

Trailing by seven, the Anteaters settled in and got out on a 7-0 run of their own over a span of 1:54 to pull within a pair, 16-14, but a Bul Ajang basket to ignite the media timeout with 7:51 remaining ended a nearly four-minute scoring drought for the Green Wave.

UC Irvine got its first lead of the game, 19-18, on a layup with 4:51 remaining, but the Wave punched back again with seven consecutive points that began with a free throw by Daniels to tie it and was capped on a jumper by Barrett with 2:54 to go to put Tulane up by six.

The Anteaters made three field goals inside the final two minutes of the period, including a layup with two seconds remaining, while holding the Green Wave scoreless to send both teams into halftime deadlocked at 25.

Tulane shot 9-for-23 (.391) from the field and made five of seven free throws in the first half, while UC Irvine went 11-for-35 (.314) on the floor and shot 20 percent from 3-point range while connecting on just one of three free throws.

Both sides exchanged blows in the opening minutes of the second half, but with the score tied at 36, the Anteaters scored seven straight points, forcing head coach Mike Dunleavy, Sr., to use a timeout with 13:51 to go.

UC Irvine went on to make its first 10 shots of the second half before coming up empty to pull in front by a dozen, 49-37, with under 12 minutes left.

The Anteaters built their advantage to as many as 13 with 6:04 to go, but that was when Tulane began to make its comeback.

A 6-0 run capped by a Jordan Cornish three-point play pulled the Green Wave within seven, 57-50, at the 4:15 mark, but despite holding the Anteaters without a field goal for over five minutes, seven straight missed shots over the subsequent three minutes by the Wave prevented them from closing the gap.

Cornish began to find some rhythm and buried a trey with 23 seconds left to keep the game six points apart. UC Irvine made their free throws in the waning seconds to add on late and finish the 12-point win.

The Anteaters won the rebounding battle, 46-37, and shot 13-for-21 (.619) in the second half, while owning a 26-12 scoring advantage in the paint.

Tulane will face UL Lafayette in Wednesday's third-place game. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. (CT).

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