Tulane edged by UTSA on three-pointer, 89-88

SAN ANTONIO – Tulane University men’s basketball (12-7, 3-4) had victory ripped from its fingertips by a three-pointer with under three seconds remaining ultimately falling to UTSA (8-12, 2-5) 89-88 on Wednesday night.

The Green Wave took the lead with 59 seconds remaining, but struggles from the free throw line became costly and left the door open for the Roadrunners in the final seconds.

As a team, Tulane shot just 62.1 percent from the free throw line in the game including a 12-for-21 performance in the second half.

Four players scored in double figures for the Wave led by Kevin Cross and Jaylen Forbes with 23 points each. Cross shot 8-of-15 from the field, pulled down six rebounds, and added three assists. Forbes knocked down four three-pointers to mark the seventh game this season and the 48th of his career with at least three makes from beyond the arc. The 20-point performances by the duo are the ninth of the year for Cross and the sixth of the season for Forbes.

Collin Holloway and Tre’ Williams both tallied 11 points in the contest each with a pair of makes from downtown. Sion James finished with eight points and led the team with five assists.

Defensively, Percy Daniels notched a career-high with four blocks.

The Roadrunners were led by a career performance Carlton Linguard Jr. with 31 points including six made threes.

Tulane jumped out to an early advantage behind a hot shooting start by Forbes who scored eight of the Wave’s first 10 points. The Green Wave built its lead to as many as nine points, but UTSA made a run in the final three minutes of the half.

After holding a 38-29 advantage, the Wave allowed the Roadrunners to go on an 11-3 run to end the half leaving Tulane with a 41-40 lead at the break.

The two teams went back-and-forth over the opening several minutes of the second half with Tulane holding the advantage most of the time. Following a handful of lead changes Tulane reached its largest lead of the second half at 81-76 with 3:32 remaining.

UTSA quickly tied the score at 81-81 with 2:41 on the clock, but Forbes scored five quick points for the Green Wave to reclaim the lead 87-85 with under a minute to play. After getting just one of two free throws with seven seconds left, Tulane suffered heartbreak when UTSA hit a go-ahead three-pointer with under two seconds on the clock to set the final score at 89-88 in favor of the Roadrunners.

Up next, Tulane returns home to host Charlotte on Saturday, January 27. Tipoff between the Green Wave and the 49ers is set for 3 p.m. on ESPNU.

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