Tulane comeback falls short to Georgia State, 80-76

NEW ORLEANS – Tulane’s furious second half rally fell short as the Green Wave men’s basketball team dropped an 80-76 decision to Georgia State Wednesday afternoon at Avron B. Fogelman Arena at the Devlin Fieldhouse.

Tulane (2-4) trailed by 15 points with 4:35 to go in the game, but the Green Wave responded in a big way with a 12-1 scoring run over the next three minutes to trim Georgia State’s (5-2) lead to four, 73-69, with 1:45 remaining.

Freshmen Connor Crabtree, Kevin Zhang and Moses Wood combined to score 11 of the Green Wave’s 12 points during the push to put Tulane within striking distance.

However, the Green Wave would get no closer than four points, as the Panthers connected on five free throws in the final minute to secure the win.

“It’s a disappointing loss,” head coach Mike Dunleavy, Sr., said. “They are a good team, and we know that, but when you are a coach, you have a game plan and there are certain ways where you are willing to lose, but seeing two of their guys come away with a total of 40 points was not one of the ways I was willing to lose.”

Georgia State’s Malik Benlevi and D’Marcus Simonds combined for 46 points to lead the way for GSU.

Zhang finished with 23 points and pulled down four rebounds to lead the way for the Green Wave. Fifteen of Zhang’s 23 points came in the second half. His 23 points were his highest since his career-high 24-point effort against Florida State in the season opener on Nov. 11.

Tulane also received a strong effort from sophomore guard Caleb Daniels, as he finished with 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the floor. Daniels has now scored in double figures in five straight games.

Redshirt senior guard Jordan Cornish also had strong afternoon as he scored seven points and dished out a career-high eight assists.

Tulane and Georgia State were even on the glass as both teams finished with 33 rebounds.

“We should have been tougher,” Daniels said. “The more second chance points they got the more life they got. We just couldn’t finish the game.”

The Green Wave trailed by 13 at the half, 44-31. In the second half, Tulane held a 45-36 scoring advantage and outrebounded the Panthers by a 45-36 count.

The Wave remains home for the second of three-straight home games, hosting Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. The game will be televised locally on Cox Sports Television and available on the WatchESPN app.