Memphis slips past Tulane in overtime, 74-67

NEW ORLEANS – Graduate guard Christion Thompson scored a career-high 30 points, but the Tulane men’s basketball team dropped a 74-67 home contest in overtime to Memphis on Saturday night in front of 3,023 fans at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse.

Thompson’s career-high scoring output marked the fourth time this season he surpassed the 20-point plateau. The Gonzales, La., native scored 15 points in the second half alone with seven coming in the final five minutes, fueling a furious second-half rally by the Green Wave (12-17, 4-13 AAC), sending the game into overtime.

“I’ve said it before, I want 10 Christion’s,” Hunter said. “He’s a tough kid, and he’s one guy that I would love to have back. He has established how we are going to play here.”

Tulane’s rally began with just under five minutes to go in the game after Memphis (20-9, 9-7 AAC) opened up its largest lead of the game at 57-49. The Green Wave responded in a major way, holding the Tigers scoreless for more than four minutes.

Tulane would eventually take the lead at 58-57 with less than 30 seconds remaining thanks to layup under the basket by Thompson, which capped a 9-0 push and brought the fans to their feet.

Memphis fought right back with a 3-pointer from the corner by Tyler Harris to snap a Tiger scoreless streak which spanned more the four and half minutes and give the Tigers a 60-58 advantage.

Junior guard Teshaun Hightower came right back with a layup to even the score with two seconds remaining, sending the game into overtime. Hightower finished the game with 22 points, surpassing 20-or-more points for a team-leading eighth time this season.

“That was a great game for fans to see, but we were 4-of-32 from the 3-point line and for us to be in the game was absolutely amazing,” Hunter said. “The positive in all of this is that just a couple of months ago, none of us were together and we are battling against two of the top teams in this league. You wouldn’t believe that we put this team together just a (few) months ago. I’m proud of these kids and I’m proud of our program.”

In the overtime session, Tulane was outscored 14-7 and shot just 1-of-8 from the field.

“I thought our defensive effort was incredible,” Hunter said. “The staple of our program is our defense.”

Tulane forced Memphis into 24 turnovers and limited itself to just 10 miscues. The Green Wave have had fewer or an equal number of turnovers than its opponent in 27 of 29 games this season.

Memphis held a 30-27 lead at halftime after shooting 45.8 percent from the floor. Neither team led by more than six points in the opening 20 minutes. The Green Wave blanked the Tigers defensively, forcing Memphis into 13 turnovers. Tulane held a 16-0 advantage in points off of turnovers at the break.

Prior to the game, Hunter presented a check in the amount of $10,000 to Samaritan’s Feet. Hunter also coached the game from the sideline barefoot to raise awareness for his charity.

Up next, the Tulane hosts UConn on Sunday, March 8 for Senior Day. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m., and the game will be televised nationally on ESPNU.

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