Tulane Outphysicals and Outhustles Texas State, 79-71

The Tulane men's basketball team took a while to get its feet under them, but once they did, the Green Wave was able to climb out of a 13-point halftime deficit to claim their second victory in two games this season, 79-71, over Texas State out of the Sun Belt Conference.

"I coached in the Sun Belt," head coach Ron Hunter said starting out his postgame media opportunity. "When you have a chance to play up, (against) like the American (Conference), that's a badge of honor. I remember telling my guys before coming to play Tulane," referring to his time at Georgia State, "how fired up they got and came here and beat Tulane. We have another Sun Belt team coming up," looking ahead to Tuesday's game against Louisiana in Lafayette. "I think our guys have to rise to the occasion. I think our guys did that toward the end of the first half and in the second half."

Halftime: Texas State 39 - Tulane 26

In a game where physicality made the difference, Texas State played more body-to-body than Tulane did, leading to a 39-26 halftime advantage for the visiting Bobcats.

Tulane opened with a matchup defense. TSU found their way around it and inside it, shooting 47% from the field, hitting 4 of their 7 from beyond the arc. The Wave hoped to slow down the Bobcats, but to no avail. Hunter then tried a three-quarter court press, and that led to a pair of turnovers, toward the end of the first twenty minutes of play. Leading the way was a hustling Josiah Moore. The sophomore guard from Leander, Texas, dove after a ball on the court with two other Bobcats around him. The rugby-type scrum on the floor led to a cascade of whistles and no short amount of elbows and shoving on the floor and beyond.

"I love that kid," Hunter said referring to Moore. "He hates when I say this, but he's a football player playing basketball. When there's a loose ball, I think he's getting it every single time. He just has a nose for the ball."

Offensively for Tulane, the first half was one you'd like to forget. The Wave hit only 32% of their 25-shots from the field. Even worse, the Greenies put up ten shots from three-point land and only landed two of them. The Wave was out-rebounded by a quicker, more physical Texas State squad, 21-12, and the Bobcat hustle led to TSU getting 13-points off turnovers.

Second Half/Final Score: Tulane 79 - Texas State 71

The ice-cold Green Wave offense of the first half opened with a trio of threes to open half number two, two of those from junior forward Scotty Middleton. After falling behind by 13 at the half, the Wave cut that to six by the time the media timeout came near the 15:00 mark.

The Wave was starting to finally hit from the field in the 2nd half. After eight-minutes of play, TU was hitting 46.2% of their shots from the field, going 6-of-13. Even more importantly, Tulane started hitting from beyond the arc, sinking 5-of-8 from the three point line for 62.5%. However, Texas State would not cool off, still hitting 54.5% of their shots from the field, 6-for-11 and 3-of-5 from three-point land for a 60% clip.

The Green Wave was starting to put a dent in that Bobcat lead by playing more physically in the 2nd period. Hunter said he substituted with intentionality.

"I put more physical guys in," Hunter told us, referring to a Tulane lineup that started to play with the same physicality as Texas State. "I thought we needed to play Percy (Daniels) and Tyler (Ringgold) together. Those are our two most physical players. We went with a lineup that was a little more experienced, and sat our newer guys down, because when you come into these kinds of games, it's going to be a battle."

The Wave was working their defense more efficiently in the 2nd half, sinking into the middle, filling gaps better and keeping the Bobcats at bay.

As the half unfolded, the Green Wave played more physically, forcing the officials to begin to call more fouls, which they did. Tulane responded by hitting an uncanny 30-out-of-30 from the charity stripe, led by Rowan Brumbaugh, going a perfect 19-for 19.

"One thing we preach is the little things," Hunter said. "We didn't turn the ball over, and we made free throws....and when you're down twenty, you better make them all."

Tulane climbed back into this one, tying the score at the 9:17 mark, 56-56, using the three-point line and those aforementioned free throws to knot it up. Rowan Brumbaugh led the way with a pair of threes and drives to the basket to finish off three-point plays. The free throw line is what got the Wave back into this one.

The Wave took the lead with the first basket of the game. That would be the last time Tulane has more points than Texas State until the 3:37 mark of the 2nd period when Moore hit a layup on an assist from a driving Brumbaugh. The Green Wave didn't take their foot off the pedal, continuing to push, defend, and drive.

"What generally happens (when you've fought back that hard to get into a game), you run out of gas," Hunter said. "I thought we got stronger as the game went on. I thought our conditioning level was tremendous. I've had teams before that would have lost tonight. That tells you a lot about this group."

Guard Rowan Brumbaugh led all scorers with 33 points, 19 of which came from his perfect night at the free throw line. He also dished out six assists and pulled down four rebounds, three of which were defensive and got a steal in 37-minutes of play. Brumbaugh was challenged by his coach in the off-season to make himself a more rounded player, not just a 3-point marksman, and the redshirt junior has taken that advice to heart.

"We're not going to win games with me just popping threes," Brumbaugh told us after the contest. "So, I think it starts with me being a leader, especially on the defensive end."

With their 2-and-0 record, Tulane will be on the road for the first time this season, as the Green Wave travel to Lafayette to take on Louisiana Tuesday night.