Tulsa hands Tulane second straight home loss, 67-54

NEW ORLEANS – Tulane graduate transfer K.J. Lawson scored a team-high 15 points, but the Green Wave dropped a 67-54 home decision to Tulsa in American Athletic Conference action Saturday afternoon inside Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse.

Tulane’s (10-8, 2-4 AAC) loss to Tulsa (12-6, 4-1 AAC) marked its second straight defeat at home, falling to 6-2.

“I thought we played hard, and I thought we played with energy throughout the game,” head coach Ron Hunter said. “At the end of the day, you have to make shots, and we just didn’t do that today. We can’t always control how many shots we make, but we can control how hard we play, and I was happy with the way we played. We have good kids in that locker room, and they are going to keep fighting.”

Joining Lawson in double-figures was junior guard Teshaun Hightower and graduate transfer guard Christion Thompson, as they finished with 14 and 10 points, respectively. The Green Wave had three players score in double-digits for the 11th time this season.

As a team, Tulane shot finished the game connecting on 38.2 percent of its shots (21-of-55). The Green Wave also finished 6-of-25 (.240) from 3-point range.

“We’re in a bad shooting slump right now – the worst we’ve been in all season,” Hunter said. “We’re playing against established programs, and this is going to happen if you don’t shoot well, and we just have to find our way through it.”

Despite the loss, Tulane had fewer turnovers than its opponent for the 17th time in 18 games this this season, as it finished with just 11 miscues while forcing Tulsa into 15.

Tulane came out strong from the opening tip, taking an early 10-2 lead in the first six minutes of the game, but the Golden Hurricane would respond with an 11-3 run over the next four minutes to even the score at 13 apiece with 10:07 remaining in the first half.

Both teams struggled from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, as they combined to shoot just 36 percent from the floor. Tulane shot 41 percent from the floor, but connected on just 2-of-10 shots from beyond the arc. Tulsa made just seven field goals in the first half.

Coming out of the locker room in the second half, neither team led by more than three points, but the Golden Hurricane would make their move under the 13-minute mark as they went on a 9-2 scoring run to open up a 51-40 lead with 10:11 to go. The Green Wave were held scoreless for over three minutes during the stretch.

Tulane was able to trim Tulsa’s lead back to single digits with just under seven minutes left in the game, but Tulane would get no closer than eight points.

Tulane returns to action on Jan. 25, as it travels to East Carolina. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. (CT), and the game will be televised nationally on ESPNU.

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