Wave Falls to SMU

Thursday, February 15

NEW ORLEANS

6 p.m.

Tulane University

13-11,4-8AAC

SMU

18-7,9-3AAC

SMU

Tulane

Photo by: Parker Waters

Feb 15, 2024 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

NEW ORLEANS – A momentum shift after halftime doomed Tulane University men's basketball (13-11, 4-8) against SMU (18-7, 9-3) on Thursday as the Green Wave dropped its second consecutive game 87-79 in Uptown. The Wave held a four-point advantage at the break, but the Mustangs caught fire in the second half outscoring Tulane 50-38.

As a team, the Green Wave shot a better percentage from the field than SMU however the three-point line cost Tulane as the Mustangs hit 10 shots from downtown to just four for the Wave. Tulane did the majority of its damage around the rim outscoring SMU 42-24 in the paint.

Kevin Cross led a trio of players in double figures for Tulane with his 12th 20-point performance of the season. Cross finished with 20 points to go with six rebounds, a team-high four assists, two blocks, and two steals.

Following Cross in the scoring column was Jaylen Forbes with 18 points and six boards. Forbes moved into fourth all-time in career points in the American Athletic Conference surpassing Christian Vital of Connecticut. The senior guard also knocked down a pair of threes to move into a tie for second in league history in career three-pointers with 276.

Sion James rounded out the top performers for the Green Wave recording 14 points, six rebounds, three assists, three blocks, and two assists.

Five players finished in double-digits for SMU led by Chuck Harris with a game-high 25 points.

The first half saw six lead changes between Tulane and the Mustangs, but the Wave held the advantage for 11:33 in the opening 20 minutes. The Green Wave claimed the lead for the remainder of the half with a 7-0 run to go up 30-25 with 5:02. Tulane's largest advantage was six points in the closing minutes, but SMU sank a pair of free throws to close the half leaving the Wave up 41-37.

After a free throw made the advantage five points for Tulane to open the second half, the momentum flipped in favor of the Mustangs. SMU scored nine unanswered points to claim the lead with 16:50 to play and the Wave would never pull back in front.

The deficit eventually reached 13 points for Tulane before the Green Wave fought back to pull within six. Ultimately, Tulane was unable to complete a comeback in the second half falling by a final score of 87-79.

Up next, Tulane will visit East Carolina on Sunday, February 18. Tipoff between the Green Wave and the Pirates is set for 1 p.m. CT on ESPN+.

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