Second-half surge lifts Tulane over Miami-Ohio, 80-59

NEW ORLEANS – Melvin Frazier scored 14 of his team-high 20 points in the second half, as the Tulane men’s basketball team won its fifth straight game, 80-59, over Miami-Ohio on Wednesday evening at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse.

Frazier led four Green Wave (5-0) players in double-figures, shooting 9-for-12 overall and pulling down eight rebounds to complement a career-high five steals and three assists. Cameron Reynolds shot 7-for-11 and added 15 points, while Ray Ona Embo scored 14 points and made three 3-pointers. Off the bench, Samir Sehic contributed 10 points and eight boards.

Nike Sibande scored 21 points and made four treys to lead the Redhawks (3-2).

Tulane started the night quickly, making five of its first seven shots from the floor and forced a pair of turnovers to create a 12-4 lead just over four minutes into the game. The Green Wave extended their advantage to double digits before the halfway point of the period and built the largest advantage of the half, 22-10, on a Caleb Daniels jumper with 9:34 left.

Miami would mount a small comeback however, cutting its deficit to as few as five points with 3 minutes remaining before Tulane took a 37-30 lead into halftime.

The Green Wave shot 50 percent overall on its 28 field goal attempts, 4-for-11 (.364) from 3-point range and just 5-for-13 (.385) at the free throw line in the first half, while Miami went 9-for-24 (.375) from the field, 3-for-9 (.333) beyond the arc and 9-for-13 (.692) at the foul stripe.

The Redhawks late first half momentum carried into the second half when they quickly drew within four points, 39-35, on a triple by Sibande with 17:55 left in the game, but a huge one-handed dunk by Frazier on a baseline drive put the Green Wave back in front by double-digits, 50-39, as the Redhawks called a timeout with 14:28 left to slow the momentum.

Tulane’s surge came as part of an 11-0 run capped by a Frazier layup to make it 55-39 with 13:08 to go, but eight-straight points by Miami down to the 9:14 mark cut the margin in half, 57-49.

A subsequent 14-2 run by the Olive and Blue gave them their first 20-point advantage of the night, 71-51, with 4:24 left on the game clock before emptying out the reserves and closing out the 21-point victory.

The Green Wave shot an impressive 19-for-34 (.559) from the floor and 3-for-3 from 3-point range in the second half to finish the night 33-for-62 (.532) overall and 7-for-14 (.500) beyond the arc. The Redhawks shot just 19-for-49 (.388) overall and 7-for-20 (.350) from outside while being outscored, 43-20, in the paint, 23-13 off turnovers and 13-4 on the fast break.

Tulane will play its first road tilt of the season in Atlanta on Sunday, Nov. 26 at Georgia State. Tipoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. (CT) and the game will be broadcast on ESPN3/WatchESPN.