Tulane falls at Georgia State, 70-59, for first defeat of season

ATLANTA – Samir Sehic scored a career-high 20 points, but the Tulane men’s basketball team suffered a 70-59 road loss at Georgia State on Sunday afternoon at the GSU Sports Arena.

Sehic shot 6-for-10 overall and 8-for-9 at the free throw line and grabbed eight rebounds off the bench, while Melvin Frazier added 11 points, eight boards, three blocks, three steals and a pair of assists. Cameron Reynolds tied for a game high with 10 rebounds for Tulane (5-1).

Malik Benlevi notched a double-double with 17 points and 10 boards, while Jordan Session contributed 15 points and 10 grabs off the glass for Georgia State (4-2).

The Green Wave scored the first five points of the game on a 3-pointer by Ona Embo, followed by a pair of free throws from Reynolds after a technical foul called against the Panthers. Unfortunately, Tulane missed seven straight shots, while Georgia State scored six consecutive points to take its first lead of the night, 6-5, on a layup with 14:19 to go in the half.

The lead would change hands a total of seven times in the first 20 minutes, along with six ties, but the Panthers would turn 10 Green Wave turnovers into 11 points, including six on the fast break, to take a 28-25 lead into the locker rooms at halftime.

Tulane shot 9-for-23 (.391) from the field, 1-for-8 (.125) from 3-point range and 6-for-7 (.857) at the free throw line in the first half, while Georgia State went 12-for-31 (.387) from the floor, 2-for-11 (.182) beyond the arc and 2-for-5 (.400) at the foul stripe.

The Panthers attacked early in the second half, scoring five straight points after a Frazier free throw to take a 33-26 advantage and force the Green Wave to call a timeout at the 17:01 mark. Georgia State stretched the margin to double digits for the first time, 38-27, on a 3-pointer by Benlevi just ahead of the media stoppage with 14:53 to go.

Tulane’s deficit grew to as many as 19 with the score 52-33 and less than 12 minutes remaining in the game, as the Green Wave struggled to generate offense for a majority of the second half, shooting just 9-for-35 (.257) overall and 2-for-13 (.154) from outside, despite going 20-for-24 (.833) at the free throw line.

Tulane finished the game shooting 18-for-58 (.310) from the field and 3-for-21 (.143) from beyond the arc, while Georgia State went 24-for-62 (.387) overall and 8-for-21 (.381) from deep, including 6-for-10 (.600) in the second half.

The Panthers outscored the Green Wave, 22-2, off turnovers and 13-7 on the fast break, while both sides scored 30 points in the paint.

Tulane returns home for its final game of November on Wednesday the 29th for a 7 p.m. (CT) matchup against Alcorn State at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhoiuse. The game will be broadcast locally on Cox Sports Television and available nationally on the WatchESPN app.