Men's Basketball Drops Gulf Coast Showcase Finale to Louisiana-Lafayette

Wednesday, November 21

Estero, Fla.

4 PM

Tulane University

2-3

Louisiana-Lafayette

3-3

Louisiana

Tulane

Men's Basketball Drops Gulf Coast Showcase Finale to Louisiana-Lafayette

Nov 21, 2018 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

ESTERO, Fla. – The Tulane men's basketball team held a three point halftime lead but were outscored by 10 in the second half of a 68-61 setback against Louisiana-Lafayette in the third place game of the 2018 Gulf Coast Showcase at Hertz Arena.

Jordan Cornish led Tulane (2-3) with a season-high 20 points on 8-for-16 shooting to go with three steals, as Caleb Daniels added 10 points.

Marcus Stroman's game-high 26 points and three assists guided Louisiana-Lafayette (3-3), as JaKeenan Gant posted a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Justin Miller also compiled a double-double with 11 points and 14 boards.

The Green Wave owned a 30-26 scoring advantage in the paint and a 12-3 margin off the bench, but the Ragin Cajuns owned a 13-9 edge on second chances, a 48-44 victory on the glass and committed just nine turnovers to the Wave's 15.

Both sides struggled offensively in the early going with physical play at both ends of the floor, as the Green Wave forced the ball into the paint and the Cajuns coming up empty on nine of their first 11 shots.

After a three-point play by Daniels gave the Wave a 9-7 lead, Louisiana made four of its next five shots from to jump back in front at the midway point of the first half, 14-9.

Tulane played excellent interior defense for the duration of the period, but had trouble finding open looks on offense. Trailing 25-19, the Wave scored six straight points, ending with a Daniels three to tie the game at 25 with under five minutes remaining.

The Green Wave went on a 15-3 scoring run over a six-plus-minute stretch into the final minute of the half, capped by a Daniels transition pass to Moses Wood who threw down a one-handed jam to put the Wave up six, 34-28.

The Cajuns hit a 3-pointer to close the first 20 minutes of action to cut their deficit in half heading into halftime.

Tulane shot 11-for-31 (.355) from the field, made a pair of 3s and connected on 10 of 13 free throws in the opening half, while Louisiana-Lafayette went 12-for-34 (.353) from the field, 5-for-13 (.385) beyond the arc and 2-for-3 (.667) at the foul stripe.

Built a seven-point lead, 40-33, forcing the Ragin Cajuns to call a timeout. That proved to help them refocus, as they responded with a 7-0 run to tie the game at 40 just under four minutes into the second half.

Despite a handful of lead changes through the middle portion of the period, the Cajuns opened up a 56-50 edge, but missed seven consecutive field goal attempts over a three-plus minute span. Tulane only came up with one basket over the course of that time – a Blake Paul layup – to cut the margin to four.

The Green Wave made their move late, working their way to the free throw line, as Bul Ajang connected on a pair with 1:03 left to pull his team within two, 63-61.

Louisiana-Lafayette closed the game with five straight points, all at the foul stripe, to seal the win.

The Wave held the Cajuns to just 30 percent shooting in the second half, but they were able to convert 14 of 18 free throws in the period. Tulane went just 8-for-15 (.533) at the charity stripe and made just one 3-pointer in the final 20 minutes.

The Green Wave will enjoy a seven-day break between games before returning to action in the first of three straight home games on Wednesday, November 28 against Georgia State. It will be Education Day at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse with tipoff set for noon (CT).

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