Tulane men’s basketball (17-12, 8-8) suffered a 90-62 defeat to South Florida (21-8, 13-3) Sunday afternoon in the Yuengling Center. With the loss the Green Wave dropped to 6-3 in true road games this season including 5-3 in conference play.
Three Greenies in Double Digits
Curtis Williams Jr. led a trio of players in double figures for the Wave with a team-high 27 points on 6-of-16 shooting including five made threes. Williams also knocked down a career-high 10 free throws while recording six rebounds and three assists as well.
The duo of Rowan Brumbaugh and Scotty Middleton also scored double digits for Tulane as each player finished with 11 points. Brumbaugh led the Green Wave with seven rebounds while adding a pair of assists and one block. Middleton drained a pair of triples and pulled down six boards.
Tournament Standings for the Wave Slip
The loss drops Tulane into the 7th slot in the ten-team field scheduled for the American Conference tournament in a week and a half.
After South Florida scored the first five points of the day, the Wave began to find its offense against the Bulls. A three-pointer from Williams gave Tulane its first lead of the contest at 15-14 with 14:50 to play in the first half.
The Green Wave and the Bulls traded the lead six times during the first frame with Tulane holding its largest advantage with 13:33 on the clock at 20-16. On the final lead change of the half South Florida mounted a 13-0 run to claim control over the Wave. Williams led the charge for Tulane with 17 points in the opening frame as the Green Wave hit the locker room trailing 49-38.
To begin the second half Tulane went back to Williams on the first play and the junior knocked home a three from the top of the key to cut the deficit back to single digits. The Wave battled to pull within six (51-45) with 18:09 remaining, but the Bulls had an answer.
Tulane was unable to consistently stop the South Florida offense the remainder of the second half as the deficit continued to grow for the Green Wave. The largest deficit of the day for the Wave came on the final shot of the contest when the Bulls hit their ninth three with just a few seconds left to hand Tulane the loss.
Next, the Green Wave will make the trip to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to face Temple on Thursday, March 5. Tipoff between Tulane and the Owls is slated for 6 p.m. CT
Portions Courtesy Tulane Athletics