Men's Basketball Completes Comeback Win at UCF, 75-74

Saturday, February 22

Orlando, Fla.

11 a.m.

Tulane University

12-15,4-11AAC

UCF

14-12,5-9AAC

Tulane

UCF

Men's Basketball Completes Comeback Win at UCF, 75-74

Feb 22, 2020 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score

ORLANDO – The Tulane men's basketball team overcame a 10-point deficit in the final four minutes to storm back and defeat UCF on the road, 75-74, in American Athletic Conference play on Saturday afternoon at Addition Financial Arena.

K.J. Lawson scored a game-high 21 points in his fourth 20-point performance of the season to lead three Green Wave scorers in double-figures. Teshaun Hightower added 18 points, five assists and four steals, while Christion Thompson chipped in 15 points and nine boards.

Jordan Walker notched a career-high six steals, accounting for nearly half of the Wave's 13 on the day.

Tulane (12-15, 4-11 AAC) shot 50 percent from the field and beyond the 3-point line, respectively in the second half, to lead the late surge.

UCF (14-12, 5-9 AAC) scored the first seven points of the game, as the Green Wave's offense struggled with rhythm in the opening minute-plus. Tulane's first three baskets of the game resulted in 3-pointers made by three different players, but the Knights held a 12-11 advantage at the first media timeout just five minutes into the game.

The Knights made a basket to pull ahead by three, but the Wave got stops and ripped off a 7-0 scoring run to take their first lead of the game, 18-14, with 13:20 remaining in the first half.

Tulane remained in front until UCF drew even at 24-all at the 7:16 mark and again at 28-all with 3:46 left, but the Knights made six of their final eight shots to climb out to lead by as many as nine before taking a 39-32 advantage into halftime.

The Green Wave shot 12-for-31 (.387) from the field and 4-for-14 (.286) beyond the 3-point arc while owning an 18-16 rebounding edge in the opening 20 minutes, while UCF shot 15-for-29 (.517) overall and 5-for-16 (.313) from outside while owning an 18-12 scoring margin in the paint.

Tulane pulled within four on a 3 by Zhang to make it 39-35 early in the second half, but the Knights used a 6-0 run to create their first double-digit lead of the afternoon just three minutes in.

Little by little, the Wave were able to chip away at their deficit, cutting it to just five points at 52-47 on a layup by Hightower, four points at 58-54 after a free throw with 7:59 to go and three on a trey by Lawson with 6:30 to go to make it 60-57.

After going without a field goal for nearly four minutes, UCF made three consecutive shots to ignite a 7-0 run, expand its lead back to double digits, 69-59, with 4:20 left.

The Green Wave were not going down without a fight however, knocking down four straight clutch shots and creating turnovers, the fourth basket coming on a Hightower steal and layup with 1:10 remaining to pull within two of the Knights, 72-70.

Collin Smith made a put-back layup with 19 seconds left to put UCF back up four, but Hightower ran coast-to-coast for a quick layup and then helped in creating another turnover on the ensuing inbounds play, leading Nic Thomas getting fouled on a 3-point attempt with eight seconds left.

Thomas buried all three to put the Wave in front for good, but not before two more steals by the defense as the clock hit zeroes.

The Green Wave finished the day shooting 25-for-57 (.439) overall, 9-for-24 (.375) behind the arc and 16-for-19 (.842) at the free throw line, while the Knights went 27-for-60 (.450) overall, 9-for-31 (.290) from deep and 11-for-13 (.846) at the foul stripe.

Up next, Tulane caps Carnival season on the road at Tulsa on Fat Tuesday, February 25. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. (CT), and the game will be televised nationally on ESPNU.

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