The No. 7 seed Tulane Green Wave came off a one-game bye and defeated the No. 10 North Texas Mean Green Eagles 66-61.
This is a game that the Green Wave never led until the 6:25 mark of the second half with a pair of free throws. North Texas led by as much as 13 points midway through the first half. North Texas led at halftime by a 32-21 margin mainly due to the Green Wave’s eight turnovers in the first half.
North Texas struggled from the field shooting 36 percent while Tulane shot 53 percent from the field and 54 percent from three . Tulane out-rebounded North Texas 36-25 but could not get close until late in the game because of the points off turnovers margin that North Texas controlled.
Jonathan Stark from Tulane had a game high 21 points, 16 of those coming in the second half.
North Texas had three players in double figures: Brandan Walton (16), Maurice Aniefiok (12), Colin Voss (10).
Tulane was able to make more important shots down the stretch and they will now face No. 2 Tulsa in the quarterfinals tomorrow at 12 p.m. Tulsa is the hottest team coming into the tournament who won their final eight games of conference play before the Conference USA tournament began.
Luis Barrio may be reached @Luis_Barrio17
