Furious second half rally comes Up short For Tulane Men’s Basketball at College of Charleston

Forbes nets a team-high 20 points

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Tulane University men’s basketball team staged a furious late second-half rally, but it was not enough, as the Green Wave dropped an 81-77 decision Tuesday night against the College of Charleston to fall to 2-5 overall on the year.

“It’s been a crazy month for us, but the kids are trying so hard, almost to the point where they’re trying too hard,” head coach Ron Hunter said. “We made some different lineup changes just to change it up a little bit with (Jadan) Coleman and TY (Tylan Pope), and that helped.”

Trailing by 12 points with 2:18 to go in the game, Tulane appeared to be done and buried, but the Green Wave had other ideas, as they went on an 11-0 run over the next two minutes to cut the Cougars’ lead to one with 20 seconds remaining.

Following a front-end miss of a one-and-one by College of Charleston’s Dimitrius Underwood, the Green Wave had the ball in their hands with a chance to take the lead for the first time since the 5:17 mark of the first half.

Sophomore guard Jaylen Forbes raced the ball up the floor, but his jumper inside the paint fell just short. After a pair of College of Charleston free throws, Tulane had one last chance to tie the game, but were unable to do so in the closing seconds, as the Cougars secured the win.

“I thought the month would turn out a little different, but there were so many lessons in it. I don’t know if I’ve ever coached this many games in a row that came down to the final possessions,” Hunter said. “I looked at my staff when we got down 12 and said, well, we’ll see what happens, will this be a 10-15 point game, and then we get a chance to win it. I know people are looking at us right now and seeing we’re 2-5, but by the end of the season this is going to be a heck of a basketball team.”

Tulane had four players score in double figures with Forbes leading the way with 20 points. The Mississippi native finished in double figures for the sixth time this season. Joining Forbes in double figures were teammates Jalen Cook, Sion James and Jadan Coleman, as they finished the game with 18, 11 and 11 points, respectively.

Sophomore Kevin Cross led team with seven rebounds and four assists.

As a team, Tulane connected a season-high 51 percent clip.

In the end, Tulane was unable to overcome its season-high 19 turnovers. The Green Wave failed to win the turnover battle for the first time this season. Tulane also was out rebounded by a 39-28 count.

“The kids fought and our offense got better, but you can’t turn it over 19 times against a team like that,” Hunter said. “We know we have a good team.”

LAGNIAPPE

-Each of Tulane’s seven games this season have been decided by five points or less.

-Sophomore Jaylen Forbes finished with 20 points-or-more for the second time this season.

-Freshman guard Jadan Coleman posted a season-high 11 points. His three 3-pointers tied a career high.

-Coleman madae his first start of the season and the second of his career.

-Freshman guard Sion James finished in double figures for the second time this season.

-The Green Wave showcased their blue uniforms against College of Charleston.

UP NEXT
The Green Wave return to action on Saturday, as they welcome Alcorn State to Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m.

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Tickets for the 2021-22 season can be purchased by calling 504-861-WAVE (9283), logging on to TulaneTix.com or visiting the ticket office at the James W. Wilson Jr. Center.

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