Tulane University
10-7,2-3AAC
UCF
10-7,1-4AAC
Men's Basketball Drops Home Tilt to UCF, 74-55
Jan 14, 2020 | Men's Basketball
NEW ORLEANS – The Tulane men's basketball team suffered its first home loss of the season inside Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse Tuesday night, as it suffered a 74-55 setback against UCF in American Athletic Conference play.
"Congratulations to UCF," head coach Ron Hunter said. "They came in needing this win, and they played like they needed this win. It's not that we didn't play hard, it's this whole deal that we talked about how we are going to handle success, and we didn't do that today"
Graduate transfer Christion Thompson led the way for the Green Wave (10-7, 2-3 AAC), as he scored a game-high 19-points to log the 20th-career double-digit scoring effort of his career and his 12th of the season. Thompson finished the night 7-of-14 from the field.
Teammates Nic Thomas and K.J. Lawson joined Thompson in double figures, as they finished with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
As a team, Tulane struggled from the floor, connecting on just 36.2 percent from the floor, which was below its season average of 43.0.
UCF (10-7, 1-4 AAC) jumped out to the early lead, but the Green Wave hung within five points for the first six minutes of the game. The Knights would begin to distance themselves, holding the Green Wave without a basket for five minutes. During that five-minute stretch, UCF led by as many as 15 points.
Tulane largest deficit of the first half came at the 2:22 mark where it trailed by 20 points. UCF would take a 35-17 advantage into the locker room after it held the Green Wave to just 20 percent shooting in the first half.
The Green Wave came out of the locker room on a high note, as they opened with an 8-2 scoring run to trim the Knights lead to 12. However, that was as close as Tulane would get for the remainder of the game.
UCF finished the game with four players in double-figure scoring and owned a 36-31 rebounding advantage.
Tulane returns to action on Saturday, as it welcomes Tulsa for the first game of a doubleheader with the women's basketball team. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on the WatchESPN app. Fans can purchase two tickets for $5. The Tulane women's game will follow at 3:30 p.m.
FOLLOW ON SOCIAL MEDIA
For behind-the-scenes coverage, follow Tulane men's basketball (@GreenWaveMBB) on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
WE ARE NOLA BUILT
Tulane University is located in the city of New Orleans. It is a city built on tradition and resiliency. The lessons Green Wave student-athletes have learned through their connection with this university and city have BUILT doctors, lawyers, business leaders, conference champions, all-conference players, All-Americans, professional athletes and NCAA tournament teams. The city of New Orleans has shaped us into who we are today. We are One City. We are Tulane. We are NOLA BUILT. Check out our story at NolaBuilt.com.
