Lawson’s 30 Points Lead Men’s Basketball Over Southern, 82-65

Sunday, December 1

New Orleans

1 p.m.

Tulane University

6-1,0-0AAC

Southern University

3-5,0-0SWAC

Southern U.

Tulane

Photo by: Parker Waters

Lawson’s 30 Points Lead Men’s Basketball Over Southern, 82-65

Dec 1, 2019 | Men's Basketball

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NEW ORLEANS – K.J. Lawson scored a career-high 30 points and Teshaun Hightower matched his personal-best with 21 more, as the Tulane men's basketball team won its third straight game by defeating Southern, 82-65, on Sunday afternoon at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse.

Lawson shot 10 of 12 from the field and made all three of his 3-point attempts, as Hightower shot 7 of 12 from the field and made three 3s.

Christion Thompson fell just shy of a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds to complement a career-high five steals. R.J. McGee reached double-figures for the first time with 10 points and four rebounds off the bench.

Playing its first game in seven days, Tulane (6-1) struggled to get its offense into rhythm early, as Southern (3-5) crept out to a 9-4 advantage just five minutes into the action. The Green Wave used their defense to get things going with two charges drawn, a steal and a block on consecutive stands, propelling a 7-0 scoring run and their first lead of the day, 11-9, at the 12:32 mark.

Trailing 19-15, the Wave made four straight shots and held the Jaguars to five consecutive empty possessions to take a 25-24 lead with 5:16 left. That proved to be the beginning of an impressive run that extended to nine straight possessions ending in a Tulane basket generating 19 consecutive points.

Southern remained scoreless for the final 6:28 of the period, as the Green Wave took a 38-24 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The Green Wave shot 15-for-26 (.577) overall and 3-for-10 (.300) from 3-point range, while outscoring the Jaguars, 14-7, off turnovers in the first half. Southern shot just 10-for-29 (.345) from the field and 4-for-12 (.333) beyond the arc.

Tulane's scoring spree continued to 21 straight on a pair of free throws by Lawson just 12 seconds into the second half to give the Olive and Blue a 16-point advantage. Southern cut its deficit to single digits, 45-36, on a driving layup with 15:21 to go, but the Wave quickly pushed the margin back to a dozen on a trey by Hightower.

The Green Wave spurred a 16-1 scoring run from that point and held the Jaguars scoreless for another extended span, this one lasting more than three-and-a-half minutes, as the lead ballooned over 20 points. Nic Thomas buried a baseline 3-pointer with 9:12 remaining to make it 64-40.

The gap widened to as many as 27 when a Lawson jumper made it 71-44 with 7:34 remaining, and the margin remained over 20 points for much of the remainder of the afternoon, but the Jaguars scored the last seven points of the game after the Green Wave put in their reserves off the bench for the final 1:39.

The Wave finished the day shooting 28-for-54 (.519) overall and 9-for-22 (.409) from 3-point range, while making 17 of 27 (.630) free throws. Southern shot 22-for-63 (.365) on the day, 6-for-26 (.231) from deep and 12 of 20 (.650) at the foul stripe.

Amel Kuljuhovic led the Jaguars with 15 points, five rebounds and three blocks. Lamarcus Lee also chipped in 11 points and six boards.

Tulane plays its first true road game of the season during a mid-week trip to Hattiesburg, Miss., to take on Southern Miss. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m., at Reed Green Coliseum.

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