Tulane Basketball Opens Season with Wild Double-Overtime Victory

Things got interesting in Uptown on Monday night, as the Tulane Green Wave men's basketball program (1-0) opened up its season with an intense 100-98 double-overtime victory over the UT Martin Skyhawks (0-1).

Krystian Lewis put together an unforgettable performance in his Olive Green and Sky Blue debut, scoring 40 points for his team on 11-of-25 shooting and a 17-of-18 clip at the free throw line. The junior guard became the first player for Tulane to score at least 40 points in a game since Phil Hicks notched 41 against the Samford Bulldogs back in 1974, and he's only the eighth player in program history to reach a point total that high. On top of this, Lewis led the Green Wave with seven rebounds and five assists. 

Though he led the way by a long shot, Lewis was far from the only Tulane standout to score in double figures. TJ Nadeau went a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the arch en route to a 15 points performance, while Tyler Ringgold filled up his stat sheet with 14 points, six rebounds, three stelas and two blocks. Joah Chappelle added 13 points and five rebounds, and KJ Greene rounded out the double-figure scoring with 10 points and four rebounds. 

It was a heavily contested matchup throughout the night, with both teams trading blows. The Green Wave shot an impressive 44 percent from the floor in the first half, yet the defense struggled to keep up with an equally-paced Skyhawks attack. The visiting squad would ultimately take the 37-35 lead into the locker room at halftime. 

Tulane stormed into the second half and took a brief lead, but that would slowly slip away as the frame progressed. With just 9:10 left to go in the half, the Green Wave faced a 66-57 deficit; in years past, the program might have allowed the momentum to completely dissipate at that point. However, this year's squad spent the rest of the half cutting into that deficit, and a quick shot with just nine seconds remaining would tie the game at 80 and send things to overtime. 

After a first overtime period that ended with a 91-91 tie, Lewis would take complete control in double overtime. He scored all nine of Tulane's points, including drilling the final two free throws with less than one second remaining to secure the victory for his program.

The Green Wave will look to keep on winning as it hosts the Jackson State Tigers on Thursday, November 5th. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. CT.