Tulane takes down Cincinnati, 76-71

NEW ORLEANS – Teshaun Hightower scored a game-high 22 points and Christion Thompson added 20 more, as the Tulane men’s basketball team defeated Cincinnati, 76-71, in its American Athletic Conference home opener Saturday afternoon at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse.

Hightower scored 17 of his 22 in the second half and led all players with three steals, while Thompson grabbed a game-high nine rebounds and went 11-for-12 at the free throw line. Kevin Zhang scored a season-high 15 points and went a perfect 5-for-5 beyond the 3-point line.

Tulane (9-5, 1-1 AAC) committed just 10 turnovers, marking the sixth straight game the Green Wave have had 10 or fewer. The Green Wave also shot an impressive 24-for-27 (.889) at the free throw line and owned an 18-6 scoring advantage off turnovers.

The Green Wave’s last home win again Cincinnati (8-6, 1-1 AAC) came in 1985 when the programs were co-members of the Metro Conference.

Defense by both teams was a common theme for the first 10 minutes of action, as both sides struggled to get clean looks at their respective baskets. The Green Wave held a 9-7 edge on a second chance basket by Hightower at the 13:31 mark, but Cincinnati reclaimed the lead and did not surrender it for the remainder of the opening half.

The Bearcats extended their advantage to as large as 11 with the score 32-21 and 4:39 left in the period, but Zhang continued to use his hot hand from the 3-point arc making all four of his attempts. His fourth trey came from straight away with 1:38 left to cut the deficit to six, 36-30, before Cincinnati took a 39-32 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Tulane shot 10-for-26 (.385) from the field, 6-for-10 (.600) beyond the arc and a 6-for-6 at the free throw line in the first half, while Cincinnati went 14-for-33 (.424) from the floor, 4-for-15 (.267) from outside and made all seven free throw attempts.

The Green Wave showed a renewed sense of urgency to start the second half, inching closer and closer with every possession before erupting for an 8-0 scoring run capped by a Nic Thomas 3-point play with 12:50 to go to tie the score at 49. Just under three minutes later, Hightower converted a layup with 10:01 to play, giving Tulane a 55-53 lead.

That would be the first of more than a dozen ties and six second-half lead changes, as both sides exchanged baskets down the stretch. Tulane finally broke through with a Thompson basket in the paint to make it 71-69 with 2:08 left. The Wave did not surrender the lead from that point, connecting on its free throws and getting stops to close out the five-point win.

The Green Wave finished the day shooting 22-for-53 (.415) from the field and 8-for-15 (.533) from 3-point land, while the Bearcats shot 26-for-58 (.448) overall, 7-for-27 (.259) from outside and 12-for-13 (.923) at the foul stripe.

Chris Vogt led Cincinnati with 21 points on 9-for-11 shooting, while Keith Williams scored 16 of his 18 points in the first half.

Tulane heads back on the road on a trip to Storrs, Conn., to play at UConn on Wednesday, January 8. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. (CT) at Gampel Pavilion and the game will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network.