Rowan Brumbaugh and Kaleb Banks combine for 44 points to lead Tulane men's basketball (4-1) to a 72-57 victory over Bethune-Cookman (1-4) Tuesday night inside Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse. The Green Wave rode the strong performances from the transfer duo to remain unbeaten at home winning by an average of 24.5 points so far this season in Uptown.
With the win, Tulane improved to 4-1 on the season and 3-0 all-time against Bethune-Cookman. Head Coach Ron Hunter also earned his first career victory over the Wildcats.
Banks led the Wave in scoring for the second time this season recording his second career 20-point performance with 22 points Tuesday night. The junior forward caught fire in the second half scoring 18 of his 22 points after the break on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor. Banks also pulled down 10 rebounds to notch his third double-double of the season.
Not to be outdone, Brumbaugh also posted his first career double-double with 20 points and a career-high 10 assists. The performance be the redshirt freshman guard marked his second 20-point game of the season and the third of his career.
Rounding out the top scorers for the Green Wave was Mari Jordan with 14 points including career highs in threes made with four and rebounds with eight. This marks the third game this season Jordan has scored in double figures and made at least three shots from beyond the arc.
As a team Tulane continued to lock down its opponents defensively holding Bethune-Cookman to 30.6 percent shooting from the floor and just 24.0 percent from downtown. The Wave also won the battle on the glass for the fourth time this season outrebounding the Wildcats 47-37. Freshman Kam Williams matched his teammate Banks pulling down a career-best 10 boards.
After Bethune-Cookman claimed the early advantage, the Green Wave used a 10-0 run to claim the lead 22-16 with 10:18 to play in the first half. Jordan helped push the advantage out to double figures for Tulane by scoring 11 points in a row for the Wave capped off with his four three-pointer of the half.
Tulane hit seven threes as a team in the first half and shot 46.7 percent from the field to take a 42-31 advantage into the locker room.
The Green Wave pushed its lead out to 15 points in the first few minutes of the second half, but the Wildcats battled back to pull within eight points with 13:22 on the clock. That would be as close as Tulane would let Bethune-Cookman get the remainder of the night. The Wave eventually extended its lead to as many as 18 points before closing out the 15-point victory 72-57.
Up next, the Tulane will host cross-town rival New Orleans in Fogelman in Devlin on Friday, November 22. Tipoff between Tulane and the Privateers is set for 6:30 p.m. on ESPN+.