By Mike Lehman, Sports Information Coordinator
NEW ORLEANS, La. – It was a close fight from beginning to end Sunday afternoon as the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team took the tough loss in New Orleans, falling 73-68 to Tulane.
In a game highlighted by tough play, plenty of fastbreak action and very few foul calls, the Golden Eagles battled back from a seven-point, halftime deficit to take a one-point lead with just under four minutes left in the contest.
Torrance Rowe provided the go-ahead bucket, draining one of his three treys on the night to give the Tech squad a 66-65 advantage. It was the closest the Golden Eagles would get to a win the rest of the night as Tulane answered on the next possession with a putback layup to take the lead for good.
The Green Wave edged the lead out to as much as seven down the stretch, with a late bucket by Rowe providing the final score of 73-68.
Tech battled back several times when things looked their most bleak, overcoming a 12-point deficit early in the second half thanks to a 13-4 run. The early comeback was highlighted by seven points from Dwan Caldwell. The big man, who was limited to 19 minutes of action after falling into early foul trouble, still managed 15 points in the contest thanks to 7-for-11 shooting from the field.
As a team, the Golden Eagles shot 45.6 percent from the floor. Unfortunately, the Green Wave seemed unable to miss, shooting 53.4 percent for the game, including 63 percent in the first half. All else was essentially equal in the contest, with each side racking up 13 turnovers and 13 personal fouls.
Big man Charles Jackson kept his double-double streak intact after scoring a tying for the team-lead with 16 points and leading the contest with 10 rebounds. The big man shot 7-of-11 from the floor and managed two steals as well.
Rowe also tied for the team-lead with 16 points after hitting three treys. He also tallied four rebounds. Josiah Moore racked up another double-digit scoring effort, dropping 10 points thanks to a few trips to the charity stripe. He sank seven-of-10 free throw attempts and pulled down a season-high seven rebounds. He also dished out three assists and made two steals.
The Golden Eagles will return to the Eblen Center on Wednesday, Dec. 3 when they host in-state rival Lipscomb in a 6 p.m. CT tilt.
Photo by Rich Schmitt
