Tulane Men’s Basketball rolls past Southeastern Louisiana, 89-66

NEW ORLEANS – Melvin Frazier led five Green Wave players in double-figures with his first career double-double comprising 25 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, as the Tulane men’s basketball team defeated Southeastern Louisiana, 89-66, Monday evening at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse.

Frazier shot 10-for-13 from the field, including 4-for-6 from 3-point range, while his double-digit field goals and rebounds both marked a career highs, respectively. Blake Paul scored 10 points and blocked eight shots, tying the single-game program record. Lawrence Nelson was the last player to accomplish the feat on Jan. 24, 1998 against USF.

Ray Ona Embo added 14 points, while Cameron Reynolds chipped in 13 points, six rebounds and three steals. Samir Sehic scored 12 points and grabbed six boards off the bench in just 11 minutes of action while shooting a perfect 10-for-10 at the free throw line.

Marlain Veal was the only Lions player to reach double-figure scoring with a game-high 26 points on 11-for-21 shooting.

Tulane (2-0) was active on the defensive end of the floor from the moment the game tipped off, blocking five of the Lions’ first seven shot attempts, including three by Paul and two by Frazier – less than three minutes into the game. The Green Wave also made their first five shots from the field to open up a 14-4 advantage at the 14:47 mark.

Paul continued to be an enforcer in the paint, blocking seven total shots in the first half alone and five in the first five minutes, as Tulane continued to play both ends of the floor starting 9-for-12 from the field as a team and creating a 30-16 lead at the media timeout with 7:27 to go.

Despite leading by as many as 15, the Green Wave’s lead slowly slipped away, as Southeastern Louisiana (1-1) cut its deficit to as few as five, 41-36, but a Frazier 3-pointer with just one second remaining in the first half sent the Green Wave into the intermission with a 44-36 lead.

Tulane shot 16-for-26 (.615) overall, 5-for-11 (.455) from beyond the arc and 7-for-10 (.700) at the free throw line in the first half, while Southeastern Louisiana went 13-for-34 (.382) from the field, 2-for-8 (.250) from deep and 8-for-10 (.800) at the foul stripe.

The Green Wave stayed hot to start the second half, making six of its first nine shots from the field and playing disciplined defense to build its first 20-point margin of the night, 65-45, with 12:30 remaining in the contest.

The Lions got as close as 18 points just five minutes later, but Tulane pushed the pedal some more in the final stretch by creating a 24-point lead with just over four minutes left before closing out the 89-66 victory.

The Green Wave finished the night shooting a combined 31-for-52 (.596), including 8-for-17 (.471) from 3-point range, while Southeastern Louisiana went just 23-for-65 (.354) overall, 6-for-20 (.350) from deep and made half of its 28 free throw attempts.

The Olive and Blue owned scoring advantages in the paint, 40-28, off turnovers, 21-13, on the fast break, 8-0, and off the bench, 22-18.

Tulane will travel to Montego Bay for the 2017 Jamaica Classic and take on Colorado State on Friday, Nov. 19. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. (CT) and the game will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network.