Tulane men’s basketball team defeated Southern 78-53 Wednesdayto improve its record to 8-0. Tulane’s eight-game winning streakmarks its best since the 1999-2000 team won nine straight. 

Tulane scored the first five points of the game before Southerntook a 14-13 lead with 11:27 to go in the first half. It would bethe Jaguars’ only lead of the game, as the Green Wave went on a17-2 run to wrestle back control with 4:46 left in the half. JuniorKendall Timmons fueled the comeback, scoring 19 of his 21 points inthe opening half. In the second period, Tulane continued to extendits lead. With 6:52 left in the second half, the score was 72-41,the Green Wave’s largest lead of the game.

“This was a team in Southern that was very well-coached and wasgoing to make us work on both ends of the floor,” Tulane head coachEd Conroy said. “We knew that if we came out with the rightmindset, we had some things we could take advantage of. For themost part, our guys did that tonight.”

Jordan Callahan added 15 points, including three treys. With 98career 3-pointers, he is one shy of cracking Tulane’s top 10 for3-point shots made in a career. Ricky Tarrant, last week’sConference USA Freshman of the Week, continued his excellent playwith 10 points and five rebounds. Tarrant is only the second GreenWave player after Callahan to receive this award.

Sophomore Josh Davis also made significant contributions,scoring 12 points and collecting a team-high nine rebounds. He hasscored in double figures every game in this young season. 

Defensively, Tulane held Southern to 39.6 percent shooting fromthe floor. The Green Wave also had 10 steals, including a game-highfour by Callahan. Tulane’s size and athleticism continues tofrustrate opponents looking to drive toward the rim, evidenced bySouthern taking many shots outside of the paint. In addition,Tulane’s defense has allowed the fewest points in Conference USA sofar this season. 

The Green Wave will see how far it has progressed from lastseason in a statement game 1 p.m. Saturday, when Georgia Tech comesto Fogelman Arena for a nationally televised game.