Tulane drops Boardwalk Battle finale to Alabama A&M

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – The Tulane men’s basketball team led by four points at halftime but dropped its final non-conference game of the year to Alabama A&M, 67-59, in the 2018 Boardwalk Battle on Saturday afternoon at Boardwalk Hall.

Sophomore guard Caleb Daniels led the Green Wave (4-8) with 14 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals, while redshirt junior forward Samir Sehic registered his fourth double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 boards.

Redshirt freshman center Buay Koka contributed eight points on 4-for-4 shooting from the floor to go with four rebounds and a pair of blocks.

Brandon Miller paced Alabama A&M (1-11) with a game-high 19 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Walter Jones Jr., added 15 points, eight boards and four steals.

Tulane was outscored 26-20 in the paint and 16-7 off turnovers despite holding 17-6 scoring advantage off the bench.

Trailing 48-42 after a trey by the Bulldogs, Tulane raced out on a 13-0 run scoring run that began with consecutive baskets by Daniels and was highlighted by a pair of thunderous two-handed dunks by Koka to push the Olive and Blue back in front, 55-48 with 9:22 left.

Alabama A&M fought back however, ending the run with a 3-pointer that ignited an 11-0 run to give the Bulldogs the lead once again, 59-55, with just under four minutes remaining.

Those 11 consecutive points were the start of a 19-4 run by Alabama A&M who closed out the eight-point triumph for its first victory of the season.

Tulane used an 18-11 scoring advantage off turnovers in the opening 20 minutes to take a 35-31 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The Green Wave shot 13-for-30 (.433) from the floor and 6-for-15 (.400) behind the 3-point line in the first half, while the Bulldogs made 37 percent of their shots and went 4-for-15 (.267) from outside.

Tulane will enjoy a lengthy Christmas break before heading to Cincinnati to open American Athletic Conference play on Jan. 2. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. (CST) at Fifth Third Arena and the game will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network.