Houston (11-18, 2-14 American Athletic Conference) walked into Devlin Fieldhouse Wednesday night last in the AAC standings. The Cougars, however, manage to spoil Tulane’s Senior Day in a 68-63 overtime win. 

“It’s hard going out with a loss on your home court,” senior forward Tre Drye said. “[It’s sad] for the team and the fans that we couldn’t leave something behind for them to remember.”

Houston shot just 42.2 percent overall, but the Wave (14-15, 5-12 AAC) shot a combined 38 percent from the field and 52 percent from the free throw line. Tulane started strong. After a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by senior Jay Hook, the Wave led 27-22 heading into the half. 

“I appreciate the fans that came [to the game tonight] to celebrate the careers of [senior guard Jay Hook] and [Drye], who were really special to me,” head coach Ed Conroy said. “I’m disappointed we couldn’t send them out with a win, but I thought we came out with an energy and played hard.” 

The Cougars flipped the switch in the second, outscoring the Wave by 5 and forcing overtime. Tulane came out flat and scored just four points in the period. Houston converted nine of its 10 free throw attempts in overtime to pull away. The loss was the Wave’s 10th in the last 11 games. 

“We took care of the basketball for a long time early on [in the game] but as the game went on, we turned [the ball] over too many times,” Conroy said. “We wanted to limit their 3-point [shooting], and our guys did a great job doing that. Credit Houston because they spread [the ball] well and got to the free throw line.”

Sophomore Peyton Henson was a silver lining in the poor showing, as he converted six of his seven shots for 15 points along with 5 rebounds. Hook and Drye, playing in their final home game at Devlin, scored nine points and three points, respectively. 

“I’m disappointed,” Hook said. “I had a couple good looks, and I have to hit those.”

The Wave closes the regular season against South Florida Saturday in Tampa, Florida.