Tulane drops two of three to Ole Miss Rebels

The Tulane men’s basketball team followed freshman point guard Jordan Callahan’s lead last Saturday and defeated the University of Houston Cougars 79-76 on Senior Night at Fogelman Arena. The contest was a must-win game for a Green Wave squad that had lost seven straight and was hoping to build momentum for the Conference USA tournament.

Rightlander Robbie Broach delivers a pitch against Ole Miss. STEPHANIE STEFANSKI/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

“This is just a phenomenal win and it came at the right time,” Tulane Head Coach Dave Dickerson said. “Hopefully we can take this momentum into practice Monday and into the conference tournament and give ourselves a chance to play more games.”

Though slow first halves had been an issue in previous games, the Green Wave impressed from the opening tip Saturday. Tulane jumped ahead 34-15 in the game’s first 12 minutes, and they led 41-29 at the half thanks to Jordan Callahan’s sharpshooting. The freshman made all five of his field goal attempts, including four three-pointers and scored 14 of his team-high 21 points in the opening period.

“Jordan Callahan, our freshman, was just sensational,” Dickerson said. “Throughout the first half, his play was the most important part of the game because his 14 points in 14 minutes gave us that cushion that we desperately needed tonight.”

Not to be outdone, senior forward Asim McQueen played his last game at Fogelman with gusto, scoring a career-high 20 points and logging 10 rebounds to register the fourth double-double of his career. Freshman wing Kendall Timmons added 13 points and was a major factor on the boards with 11 rebounds. McQueen and Timmons helped the Green Wave outrebound Houston 46-22 and score 22 second-chance points off of 17 offensive rebounds.

“We knew the only way we would win this game was if we could out-rebound these guys,” Dickerson said. “We thought, just by looking and our stats and their stats, that we would have a chance to get a lot of rebounds and run those rebounds into a lot of possessions for us and we did.”

Tulane also made it clear that the team can play under pressure. The Green Wave did not collapse when Houston made a late run to take the lead at 67-66 with 4:46 remaining, and Tulane regained the lead for good at the 52-second mark when Timmons scored off of an offensive rebound. In a fitting ending, senior point guard Kevin Sims knocked down a pair of free throws to close out the game and his prolific playing career at Fogelman arena.

Senior guard Aubrey Coleman, who scored 38 points, spearheaded Houston’s surge. Even Coleman, the nation’s leading scorer at 26.0 points per game, couldn’t help his team take down a Green Wave squad determined to make a statement. For Conference-USA foes, the message was clear: Tulane will not go down without a fight.

“I am very excited for our players,” Dickerson said. “They have endured a really difficult, injury riddled, inconsistent and frustrating season, and what a fitting way to end the year. We beat a really good team on our home court on Senior Night.”