The Green Wave is now a perfect 2-0 in American Conference play following an impressive late showing against the Owls.
The Tulane Green Wave (11-4, 2-0) continued its solid start to American Conference play on the hardwood with a 69-66 victory over the Florida Atlantic Owls (9-6, 1-1) at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse on Sunday.
It was another come-from-behind victory for a squad that has shown remarkable grittiness through the first half of the season. After what was a back-and-forth contest, the Green Wave fell behind 66-62 with 2:27 left in the game. Down but far from out, Scotty Middleton drilled a three-pointer to cut the deficit to just one point, and Rowan Brumbaugh went 1-for-2 at the free throw line to tie things up at 66.
It was Asher Woods who came in clutch with the game-winning basket at the end. The senior drove to the basket for the go-ahead layup with roughly 55 seconds remaining in the game, drawing a foul while watching his shot roll through the hoop. He made his ensuing free-throw, and Tulane carried that 69-66 advantage to the very end.
Brumbaugh led all scorers on the day with 20 points, three rebounds and three assists, but Woods was not far behind with 16 points -- 13 of which game in the second half -- as well as four rebounds and one assists. The highly-acclaimed duo once again served as the team's one-two punch and the biggest difference-makers in the matchup.
Middleton and Curtis Williams, Jr. recorded nine points each, with the former adding a team-high seven rebounds for the Sky Green and Olive Blue. Three additional players netted five points apiece for the team: Tyler Ringgold, Percy Daniels and JoJo Moore.
As a team, the Green Wave showed improvement in a few key areas from its showing against the East Carolina Pirates to open the season. The team shot roughly 80-percent from the charity stripe -- a stark difference from its 67-percent from the line just a few days ago -- and brought down 43 boards to FAU's 28.
Additionally, Tulane forced the Owls to commit 18 turnovers, including 13 in the second half and four in the final 2:27 of action. The Green Wave turned the ball over just 11 times on its own while bringing in 12 steals and dishing out 12 assists. Defensively, the team recorded seven blocks.
The Green Wave will look to continue its perfect start to American Conference play on Saturday, January 10th, as the team travels to the Lone Star State for a showdown with the UTSA Roadrunners. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. CT.