NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) – The Tulane University men’s basketball team played one of its toughest games yet, as it dropped a hard-fought 75-66 loss to the SMU Mustangs Saturday afternoon inside the Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse.
With the loss, Tulane moved to 4-2 in league play and 7-8 overall. The Green Wave’s setback also marked the team’s first loss at home in conference play.
Freshman Jalen Cook had the hot hand for Tulane scoring 23 points, marking the sixth this season he has scored 20 points-or-more. DeVon Baker and Kevin Cross also posted double-digit figures with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Cross has now scored in double digits in eight straight games.
Cross and sophomore Jaylen Forbes paced the team with eight rebounds apiece. As a team, Tulane was outrebounded 39-38.
In the first half, Tulane shot 47.1 percent from the field and an impressive 50 percent from beyond the arch. The Green Wave opened a 41-36 halftime lead over the Mustangs.
The Mustangs went on a 10-point run to open the second half, Tulane’s final lead of the game came with 3:07 left in the half, before SMU sealed the game with another 10-point run.
As a unit, the Green wave shot 37 percent from the field and 37 percent from beyond the arch for the game in the loss.
LAGNIAPPE
- DeVon Baker now has 62 games in his career scoring in double-digits.
- Kevin Cross has now scored in double figures 11 times this season and 25 times in his career.
- Tulane’s matchup with SMU marked the 40th all-time meeting between the two teams.
- Tulane has made at least one 3-point field goal in 241 consecutive games. The last time the Green Wave failed to do so came on Jan. 16, 2014 at home against Louisiana Tech when they went 0-for-14 from outside.
- Tulane won the turnover battle for the 12th time this season. The Green Wave finished with nine turnovers compared to WSU’s 16.
- The Green Wave had three-or-more players score in double figures for the 12th time this year
UP NEXT
Tulane returns to action on Saturday (Jan. 22) where it will head to UCF. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. CT and will be aired live on ESPN+.
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TICKETS
Tickets for the 2021-22 season can be purchased by calling 504-861-WAVE (9283), logging on to TulaneTix.com or visiting the ticket office at the James W. Wilson Jr. Center.
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{Press release courtesy of Tulane Athletics}
