Tulane Men’s Basketball falls at No. 11 North Carolina

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Melvin Frazier led four Green Wave players in double-figures by matching a career high with 27 points, but the Tulane men’s basketball team dropped its second contest of the season, 97-73, at 13th-ranked North Carolina on Sunday afternoon at the Dean Smith Center.

Frazier shot 9-for-16 overall and led all players with five assists, while Cameron Reynolds made eight shots, including four 3-pointers, to finish with 18 points, five boards and four helpers. Jordan Cornish made four treys and added 12 points, while freshman Caleb Daniels chipped in a season-high 11 points off the bench for Tulane (6-2).

Luke May led North Carolina (8-1) with 22 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and four blocks, as Kenny Williams and Joel Berry scored 13 points apiece.

North Carolina started the game with a 9-2 scoring run, forcing the Green Wave to use a timeout after just two minutes of action. The Tar Heels would make their first six shots from the floor to create a 15-4 advantage at the first media timeout with 15:18 to go.

Trailing by as many as 25 points at the 6:37 mark, Tulane was able to score eight straight points on three consecutive possessions, which included back-to-back 3-pointers by Daniels and a jumper in the paint by Reynolds to cut the deficit to 39-22 at the 4:47 mark.

While the Green Wave began to establish a rhythm offensively, North Carolina was relentless under the basket, making 15 of its 18 attempts in the painted area, before taking a 52-29 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Tulane shot 11-for-36 (.306) from the field, 3-for-10 (.300) beyond the arc and 4-for-5 (.800) at the free throw line in the first half, while UNC went 19-for-28 (.679) on the floor, 3-for-5 (.600) from outside and 11-for-14 (.786) at the charity stripe.

The last Green Wave opponent to shoot above 60 percent in the first 20 minutes of a game was St. John’s on Dec. 2, 2016 in New Orleans.

The Tar Heels stayed hot from the field to begin the second half, making 8 of their first 10 shots, and used a 10-0 scoring run beginning with the 14:53 mark, forcing Tulane to call a timeout trailing 71-40 with 13:08 left.

UNC built the margin to as many as 32 points with 4:31 remaining and shot 19-for-30 (.633) in the second half to close out the 24-point victory.

Tulane returns home to host Southern on Wednesday, Dec. 6 for Education Day at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse. Tipoff is scheduled for noon (CT) and the game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app.