Tulane Succumbs to Bearcats, 77-56

Ten turnovers in the opening nine minutes doomed any chance that the struggling Tulane Green Wave may have had against the 22nd-ranked Cincinnati Bearcats Wednesday evening in C-USA hoops action at at Fifth Third Arena before a crowd of 12,262. Cincinnati went on to a 77-56 victory.

Taylor Rochestie topped the Green Wave with 14 points and 10 rebounds and Quincy Davis added 12 points and 3 rebounds on 5-of-9 shooting, as the slumping Green Wave suffered it's fifth consecutive double digit loss and saw it's season won-loss record fall to 9-17, 3-12 in C-USA.

Reserve point guard Jihad Muhammad scored a game-high 24 points for the Bearcats, including consecutive three-pointers to help Cincinnati pull away to a 17-4 lead to open the game. Muhammad later buried another three, staking the Bearcats to a 22-13 edge with about seven minutes to go in the first half. Cincinnati led at halftime by the score of 32-22.

Jason Maxiell scored 18 points and Eric Hicks contributed 10 points and 10 rebounds for Cincinnati (23-6, 11-4 C-USA), which has now won five straight.

Taylor Rochestie led Tulane with 14 points, largely due to 3-of-5 shooting from beyond the 3-point arc, and Quincy Davis contributed 12, as the Green Wave (9-17, 3-12) suffered its fifth straight loss. Ben Benfield added 10 points for Tulane, hitting 2-of-5 3-pointers, and Marcus Kinzer and Donnie Stith each scored 9 to aid the Wave's efforts.

Tulane rode a streak of hot shooting by Rochestie and Kinzer to open the second half with a rally that managed to cut the 'Cat lead to 5 at 43-38, with 14 minutes remaining.

But a Muhammad basket midway through the final period would push Cincinnati's lead to 12 at 52-40. The Bearcats leading 3-point shooter, Muhammad would later add another three-pointer and the Bearcats would then own a 67-44 advantage. Still Rochestie and Benfield rallied the Wave for another run and Tulane trailed by only 13 with 1:53 to go, but the Green Wave faded in the final two minutes as the Bearcats scored the game's final 8 points to account for the final margin.

Freshman forward David Gomez played only 4 minutes, recording two fouls and missing his only field goal attempt, and junior Vytas Tatarunas did not play for the Green Wave.