Tulane struggles to slow No. 9 Houston in 85-50 home setback

NEW ORLEANS – The Tulane men’s basketball team trailed by just nine at halftime but suffered an 85-50 home loss to No. 9 Houston in American Athletic Conference play at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse on Sunday afternoon.

Sophomore Caleb Daniels led the Green Wave (4-20, 0-12 AAC) with 13 points and five assists, while redshirt junior Samir Sehic chipped in 12 points, three rebounds and a pair of steals.

Corey Davis Jr. paced the Cougars (25-1, 12-1 AAC) with 26 points and shot 8-for-11 from 3-point range, as Armoni Brooks chipped in 24 points while making 6-of-8 from beyond the arc.

Houston made 17 shots from 3-point land, owned a 49-30 rebounding advantage and outscored Tulane, 24-18, in the paint, 18-9 off turnovers and 26-2 on the fast break.

Daniels converted his second three-point play of the game just two minutes into the second half to cut the Wave’s deficit to eight, 39-31, but Houston countered with 11 of the next 13 points to push its advantage back to 17 with 15 minutes left.

The Cougars led by as many as 17 at the midway point of the first half, but the Green Wave settled in offensively and held Houston scoreless in the final 3:41, as the Green Wave trailed by just nine at halftime, 37-28.

Houston made three of its first four shots and scored the first 10 points of the game in just under three minutes. The Cougars also netted seven 3-pointers in the opening 20 minutes of action.

Tulane heads to Memphis in search of a regular-season series split on Wednesday, February 23. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m., at FedEx Forum and the game will be televised nationally on ESPNU.

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