Green Wave rally past Wichita State

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - Tulane sophomore guard Jaylen Forbes scored 16 of his team-best 20 points in the second half to guide the Green Wave to a thrilling 68-67 come-from-behind win over Wichita State Wednesday night.

Tulane’s win over the Shockers was the program’s first ever victory over Wichita State. The win also improved Tulane to 4-1 in American Athletic Conference play and moved Tulane back to .500 on the year (7-7).

Joining Forbes in double figures were Jalen Cook, Sion James, Kevin Cross and DeVon Baker, as they finished with 18, 10, 10 and 10 points, respectively.

Trailing by as many as 16 points in the game, the Green Wave showed no quit, as they utilized a 19-6 second half run to take a 60-59 lead with 7:20 remaining in the game.

Tulane’s one-point advantage was its first lead of the night. From that point, the lead would change hands eight more times for the remainder of the game.

In the final four minutes of the game, both defenses clamped down, as the two teams combined for just four points. The biggest defensive play came from sophomore Nobal Days, as he took a charge on the Shockers’ final possession to give the Green Wave the ball with less than a second remaining and preserve the win.

Tulane’s 16-point deficit was the team’s first double-digit come-from-behind win on the road since its 2016 matchup at ECU. The Green Wave finished the second half connecting at a 58.3 percent clip from the field and finished the game with a 46.3 shooting percentage.

Wichita State jumped out to an early 13-point lead at the 12:31 mark (20-7) of the first half, but the Green Wave charged back to close the Shockers lead to five (22-17) with 8:15 to go until the break. Baker led the way during with five points during the Green Wave’s 10-2 push during the five-minute stretch.

Six minutes later, the Shockers pushed their lead back to double digits as they opened up a 16-point lead with 2:35 remaining in the first half. Tulane trailed by 14 points at the half (42-28). Cook led all first half scorers with 10 points.

As a team, the Green Wave were outshot 42.0-37.0 percent from the floor. Tulane also was held to 21.0 percent from beyond the arc.

LAGNIAPPE-The Green Wave’s meeting with Wichita State marked the seventh all-time meeting with the Shockers.

-Head coach Ron Hunter picked up his first career win over Wichita State.

-Tulane’s matchup against Wichita State marked just the ninth Green Wave opponent with a record over .500.

-The Green Wave had three-or-more players score in double figures for the 11th time this year.-Tulane won the turnover battle for the 11th time this season. The Green Wave finished with eight turnovers compared to WSU’s 12.-The Green Wave outscored Wichita State 30-20 in the paint.

-Tulane guard Jaylen Forbes made his 36th straight start.-The Green Wave made a 3-pointer for the 240th straight game.-Nine of Tulane’s 14 games this season have been decided by five points or less.

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