Men’s Basketball Falls to Mississippi State, 80-66

Thursday, November 21

Myrtle Beach, S.C.

1 P.M.

Tulane University

3-1,0-0AAC

Mississippi State

5-0,0-0SEC

Mississippi St.

Tulane

Photo by: Joe Faraoni | ESPN Images

Men’s Basketball Falls to Mississippi State, 80-66

Nov 21, 2019 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score

CONWAY, S.C. – The Tulane men's basketball team forced Mississippi State into 25 turnovers, but the Bulldogs used a strong second-half shooting performance to hand the Green Wave their first loss of the season, 80-66, in the first round of the 2019 Myrtle Beach Invitational Thursday afternoon at the HTC Center.

K.J. Lawson and Christion Thompson led three Tulane (3-1) scorers in double-figures with 12 points apiece, while Jordan Walker added 11 points and a game-high six assists plus three steals. Ray Ona Embo chipped in nine points and a career-high five steals off the bench.

Iverson Molinar paced Mississippi State (5-0) with 21 points, while Reggie Perry added 18 points. Tyson Carter compiled a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds.

"Mississippi State has a good basketball team," head coach Ron Hunter said. "I've played his (Ben Howland) teams about three times now, and I think that's the best team he's had. They really shot it well today. That was a great test for us. Our kids needed to kind of see that, and I don't know if we'll see a better team this year."

Mississippi State used its size inside early to establish a dominant presence on the glass while also pushing the ball to the wings to make seven of its first 11 shots, including three of four 3-pointers, and build a 22-11 advantage at the 11:23 mark.

Tulane's defensive intensity kicked into full gear down the final stretch of the first half, forcing the Bulldogs into 12 turnovers and collecting seven steals off of them, while working the ball into the paint for several easy baskets.

Trailing by just four, 31-27, after a layup by Lawson with 3:29 remaining, the Green Wave were unable to light up the scoreboard again, as the Bulldogs scored five straight points to close the half and take a 36-27 advantage into break.

"That's the first time since we've been a group that we've had adversity and you can't create adversity in practice," Hunter said. "To be honest, I'm pleased. I'm never pleased to lose, but I am pleased with the fact I'm learning about the team."

The Wave shot 10-for-29 (.345) overall, 1-for-11 (.091) from 3-point range and made all six free throw attempts in the opening 20 minutes, while Mississippi State went 13-for-24 (.542) from the field, 5-for-11 (.455) from outside and 5-for-7 (.714) at the foul stripe while owning a 21-10 advantage on the boards.

Tulane pulled within six, 38-32, just 90 seconds into the second half after a 3 by Lawson and a breakaway dunk by Ona Embo, but the Bulldogs forced the Green Wave into tough shots for stops and executed at the other end to rip off a 12-2 scoring run and create a 50-34 lead with 15:43 left.

Walker attempted to manufacture momentum for the Wave from beyond the arc, connecting on three straight 3s and nine straight points over a four-minute span to cut the deficit to 13 with the score 56-43. Mississippi State responded with 11 consecutive points and a breakaway dunk to stretch its lead over 20 points with 9:37 to go.

"Our kids continued to fight," Hunter said. "We wanted to turn them over, which gave us possessions, but as long as I've been coaching I've never been in a situation where the rebound situation was what it was. We were absolutely dominated, 41-16. You just aren't going to win many games that way."

The Bulldogs extended the lead to their largest of the night – 25 points – with 8:07 remaining, but the Green Wave started chipping away to cut the deficit to 14 with the score 75-61 and 2:50 to play. Tulane would draw no closer however, as Mississippi State closed out its 14-point win.

Tulane faces Middle Tennessee in the consolation semifinals on Friday, November 22. Tipoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. (CT) at HTC Arena and the game will be televised nationally on ESPNU.

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