Tulane Green Wave Comeback Falls Short in Overtime Against New Orleans Privateers

The Tulane Green Wave suffered an excruciating defeat at the hands of the New Orleans Privateers.

Feb 8, 2017; New Orleans, LA, USA; Devlin Fieldhouse logo at midcourt before the game between Houston Cougars and Tulane Green Wave at Devlin Fieldhouse. / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

The Tulane Green Wave were facing off against their in-state rivals, the New Orleans Privateers, for the first time in eight years on Friday night at Devlin Fieldhouse.

In that last matchup, the Privateers cruised to a 74-59 victory hosting the Green Wave during the 2016-17 campaign. That was a tough one for Tulane, as they went 6-25 in the first season under head coach Mike Dunleavy.

While Friday’s night wasn’t a blowout, the outcome was just as disappointing.

The Green Wave dug themselves into an early hole, trailing by as many as 16 points. But, some credit needs to be given to them for not throwing in the towel and clawing their way back into the game.

A 12-point halftime lead was erased, as Tulane was able to force overtime with the contest tied at 80. Unfortunately, Ron Hunter’s group ran out of steam, as they suffered their first home defeat of the season, 93-87, in overtime.

Through the first five games of the year, the Green Wave had been stellar on the defensive side of the ball. That effectiveness was not there on Friday, as New Orleans shot 50% from the field.

Guard James White poured in a game-high 31 points, shooting 11-of-21 from the field overall with two 3-pointers. He also went 7-of-10 from the foul line.

He was one of four Privateers starters who scored in double figures, as Jah Short, Dae Dae Hunter and JR Jacobs scored 13, 15 and 10 respectively.

New Orleans also won the rebounding battle 37-35 and overwhelmed Tulane in the paint with 40 points scored.

Hunter made an adjustment to his rotation, inserting freshman Kam Williams into the starting lineup in place of Tyler Ringgold.

It was a move that paid dividends, as he stuffed the stat sheet.

The Lafayette native scored a career-high 19 points to go along with eight rebounds, one assist, four steals and one block. He is someone that the coaching staff has quickly gained trust in, as he played 43 out of a possible 45 minutes.

Leading the way in the scoring department again for the Green Wave was transfer Kaleb Banks, who reached the 20-point plateau for the third time in his last four games. He made a living at the foul line, knocking down all 13 of his attempts.

Off the bench, Asher Woods saw an increased role and made the most of his opportunity when he scored 17 points with three rebounds and six assists in 29 minutes.

Hunter went with a nine-man rotation against the Privateers, as he admits that distributing minutes is still a work in progress. It’ll likely take a few more games before he settles on a consistent rotation to run with.

Tulane will take the court next against the Wyoming Cowboys on Nov. 26 in a neutral-site game that will be played at the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya in Cancun, Mexico.