By Jason Pugh, Northwestern State Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations; featured photo by Chris Reich, NSU Photographic Services
NEW ORLEANS – Three nights after owning the paint in a season-opening win, the Northwestern State men’s basketball team was on the other end of the spectrum Thursday night.
Tulane took advantage of its inside bulk to build an efficient offensive attack and hand the visiting Demons an 88-71 defeat at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse.
“They were big, and they drove the ball,” first-year head coach Rick Cabrera said. “That was probably the game plan. That’s what this level does. Size overpowers. In a 10-minute span, we struggled with their physicality. We’ll learn from it and get better.”
The Green Wave (2-0) outscored Northwestern State (1-1) by 20 in the paint as it turned an eight-point halftime lead into the final margin. Tulane produced a 28-16 margin inside in the second half.
Despite hitting only one 3-pointer, Tulane produced 52 points in the paint to swing the momentum to the hosts.
“They were (1-for-14) from 3,” Cabrera said. “As a coach, I wish I’d played more zone.”
Northwestern State kept things close in the first half, recovering after the Green Wave scored the first six points of the game. The Demons battled back to tie the game at 10 on a Braelon Bush 3-pointer with 15:14 to play in the first half.
NSU took its lone lead of the game on a pair of Chase Forte free throws with 13:42 to play before the Green Wave answered with successive three-point plays.
Those free throws were part of a first half in which the Green Wave went 17-for-19 from the stripe. For the game, Tulane knocked down 29 of 32 free throws.
That total nearly tripled Northwestern State’s free throw attempts as the Demons knocked down all 11 of their free-throw attempts.
Despite being outscored by 13 at the line in the first half, the Demons continually battled back in the first half, pulling even at 29 with 7:18 to play on a Jamison Epps layup.
“I told our guys, on the road, against teams like this, you almost have to play perfectly,” Cabrera said. “I wouldn’t say we played perfect, but we put ourselves in position to compete. If you put yourself in position to compete, you give yourself a chance.”
Coupled with a 52-percent shooting effort from the field, the Green Wave steadily pulled away in the second half. Tulane
Ryan Forrest led Northwestern State with 23 points while JT Warren (13) and Braelon Bush (11) also reached double figures. Kevin Cross matched Forrest for game-high scoring honors with 23 while Kolby King added 20.
Epps grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds, reaching double figures in that category for the second time in as many games.
The Demons return home for their final November home game Monday when they host longtime rival Stephen F. Austin. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. inside Prather Coliseum.