UAB downs Tulane, 78-67

NEW ORLEANS – A tough shooting performance in the second half led to Tulane University men’s basketball (13-13, 4-10) losing its fourth game in a row as it fell at home to UAB (18-9, 10-4) on Sunday afternoon, 78-67.

The Green Wave held a one-point lead at the half, but ultimately shot just 32.1 percent from the field to 53.8 percent for the Blazers in the second half.

The defeat marks the first time Tulane has lost four consecutive games since the 2020-21 season. It is also the first time the Wave has lost consecutive games inside Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse since it dropped five-straight during the 2020-21 campaign.

All eight players that touched the floor for the Green Wave tallied at least two points including three in double figures. Kevin Cross led the team with 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting to go with four assists.

Sion James registered 13 points against the Blazers to become the 39th player in program history with 1,000 career points. The junior also matched the team-high with five rebounds and added three assists.

Jaylen Forbes finished with 10 points marking his 88th career game with double-digit points and his 18th this season. He also pulled down five board and dished out two assists.

Four players scored double figures for UAB led by Yaxel Lendeborg who matched his career high with 26 points to go with 12 rebounds.

After going back and forth to open the contest Tulane claimed its largest lead of the first half on a layup by James to go up 11-6 with 16:25 on the clock. The Blazers responded to pull back in front before the two teams exchanged the lead five times over the next few minutes.

The Green Wave faced its largest deficit of the first half trailing 32-22 with 5:21 to play but closed the opening frame on a 16-5 run to take a 38-37 lead into the locker room.

UAB reclaimed the lead to open the second half and slowly expanded its advantage as Tulane trailed by eight with 13:12 remaining. The deficit eventually expanded to 64-53 with eight minutes to play before the Wave began to fight back.

Tulane cut it to a one possession game on a three-pointer from Forbes to make the score 66-63 with 2:54 on the clock, but that would be as close as the Wave would get down the stretch. The deficit extended back out to as many as 12 points in the final minutes before Tulane ultimately lost 78-67.

Up next, Tulane will welcome North Texas to town on Wednesday, February 28. Tipoff between the Green Wave and the Mean Green is set for 6 p.m. on ESPN+.

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