Costly Error Costs Tulane Basketball in Loss to Jackson State

The Tulane Green Wave men's basketball program had one of the most head-scratching losses in the Ron Hunter era, falling 87-85 to the Jackson State Tigers. 

Though the Green Wave led for the vast majority of the contest, all of that changed with just over a second remaining in the contest. With the contest tied at 85 and seconds ticking off the clock, Tulane found itself in a bit of a bind. Rather than risk a turnover, the team attempted to call a timeout, seeming to forget that it had used all of its timeouts already. Due to this, a technical foul was called, giving the Tigers the chance to shoot a pair of free throws with 1.6 seconds left. Jackson State made both shots, and the home team was unable to heave up and score a miracle shot before time expired.

This type of game-deciding error is one that the Olive Green and Sky Blue would never expect from a head coach in his eighth year at the helm. It's the type of game that Tulane is desperately going to want back by the time March rolls around... but perhaps by then, the team will be a little more careful about calling those late-game timeouts. 

Overall, the Green Wave's offense put together another a strong showing, with six players scoring in double-figures. TJ Nadeau and Carson Schwieger each contributed 16 points for the program, combining for seven three-pointers. Tyler Ringgold added 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds, while Joah Chapelle had 12 points. KJ Greene and Krystian Lewis -- who scored an impressive 40 points in the season-opening win over the UT Martin Skyhawks -- had 10 points apiece. 

The first few minutes of action all went in the home team's favor, with the program taking a 30-15 roughly halfway through the first half. The Tigers managed to cut into that lead significantly, but Tulane held a 42-38 lead heading into the locker room at halftime. 

From then on out, the Green Wave just couldn't find a way to pull away from JSU for good. The Tigers routinely found ways to cut into leads and stop any momentum, and though they ultimately reaped the benefit of a massive mistake to clinch the victory, they played incredibly hard in the second half and slowly wore Tulane down. 

The Green Wave just couldn't get out of its own way. Its offense gave up 18 points on 17 turnovers and missed nine free throws, all of which proved to be crucial down the stretch. The team had 39 total rebounds -- including 12 offensive boards -- to Jackson State's 28, but it struggled to find much to show for it.

Up next, Tulane will welcome the Nicholls Colonels to Uptown. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. CT on Tuesday, November 10th, from Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse.