Tulane takes win at Temple in conference opener, 85-75

PHILADELPHIA – Melvin Frazier led all players with 25 points and matched a career-high with seven assists, as the Tulane men’s basketball team defeated Temple, 85-75, in its American Athletic Conference opener Thursday evening at the Liacouras Center.

Tulane (10-3, 1-0 AAC) shot a perfect 15-for-15 from the free throw line and and impressive 15-for-24 (.625) overall in the second half, while tallying a season-high 22 assists to just 10 turnovers on 31 field goals made.

Frazier shot 9-for-13 from the field and made all six free throws and recorded three steals, while Cameron Reynolds registered his second double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Ray Ona Embo tallied 11 points, five boards, five assists and three steals, while Blake Paul chipped in 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting.

The victory was the Green Wave’s first in a conference opener since 2014-15 and the first against Temple since a 67-59 triumph at home on Jan. 20, 1996.

Quinton Rose and Shizz Alston, Jr., led Temple (7-5, 0-1 AAC) with 17 points apiece, as Josh Brown chipped in 14 points. Nate Pierre-Louis contributed 11 points, five rebounds and three steals off the bench.

Tulane forced three early turnovers while making four of its first seven shots of the night to open up an early 9-2 lead just over three minutes into the game. The Green Wave began establishing their offense inside the heart of the Owls defense with three straight baskets in the painted area to make it an eight-point lead, 18-10, at the under-12 media timeout with 11:40 to go.

Leading by five at the 10:31 mark, Tulane scored six consecutive points, capped by a Reynolds jumper in the paint, to create its first double digit lead of the night, 26-15, and forcing Temple to burn its first timeout with 7:53 left.

The lead grew to 14 on a trey by Samir Sehic, and despite a 31-18 advantage, the Owls erupted with a 9-0 run to cut their deficit to just four, 31-27, with 1:20 remaining. After a timeout by the Green Wave, they scored seven of the final nine points of the period, including five by Frazier on a 3-point play and layup to send the Olive and Blue into halftime with a 38-29 lead.

Tulane shot 16-for-33 (.485) from the field, 2-for-10 (.200) from 3-point range and 4-for-5 (.800) at the free throw line in the first half, while Temple shot 12-for-29 (.414), made one of 10 attempts beyond the arc and mirrored the Wave’s free throw tallies.

The Green Wave outscored the Owls, 15-4, off turnovers, 6-2 on the fast break and 20-16 in the paint in the period, while committing just three turnovers in the period.

Tulane tried pulling away on multiple occasions early in the second half, leading by 12 points with 18:15 remaining and nine points at the 14:30 mark, but the Owls had the hot hand, making eight of their first 12 shots and three of their five 3-pointers in the period to prevent the Green Wave from pulling away.

Rose sunk a trey with 11:04 to go to cut Temple’s deficit to four, 56-52, but back-to-back jumpers by Caleb Daniels stretched the advantage back to eight, 60-52, with 10 minutes remaining.

Temple drew within four points, 64-60, with 6:46 left, but Frazier responded with a trey on the next possession. The Green Wave got into the bonus with over four minutes remaining and continued to get to the line, extending the lead back to double digits, 73-62, on a pair of conversions by Reynolds with 3:51 to go.

The Owls countered with six straight points, capped by an Alston bucket with 2:54 to go to cut the margin to five, 73-68, before calling a timeout. Temple would get as close as four points one last time, 73-77, on a three-point play by Rose with 1:10 remaining, but an 8-2 run by the Green Wave, capped by a pair of fast break dunks by Frazier sealed the 10-point victory.

Tulane finished the night shooting 31-for-57 (.544) overall, 4-for-16 (.250) beyond the arc and 19-for-20 (.950) at the free throw line, while outscoring Temple 21-12 off turnovers and 10-4 on the fast break. The Owls shot 30-for-67 (.448) from the field, 4-for-21 (.190) from deep and 11-for-14 (.786) at the foul stripe.

Tulane will host Tulsa in a New Year’s Eve matinee for its conference home opener on Sunday. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m., at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse and the game will be broadcast nationally on the WatchESPN app.