Tulane killed Bethune-Cookman from the free throw line in the first half. The Green Wave stepped farther out to do its damage after the break.

After sinking 19 of 23 free throws to take a 37-31 halftime lead, Tulane five 3-pointers in the second half, including a shot from the wing by Ben Cherry with 2:36 left that finally put away the pesky Wildcats.

It wasn't always pretty, but the Wave was pretty much in control for the final 25 minutes, winning 65-55 on Tuesday night at refurbished, renamed Devlin Fieldhouse.

"We can execute better, we can play better and we have a long way to go," Tulane coach Ed Conroy said. "But I was really pleased with the coachability of our guys tonight."

Facing a team that likes to bleed the clock on both ends of the floor, the Green Wave pushed the pace and attacked the basket before the Wildcats could set up their zone defense. Four days after getting crushed on the boards, 47-23, by Georgia Tech, Tulane outrebounded Bethune-Cookman 39-34. The Wave also held sharpshooting guard Kevin Dukes, who entered with 190 career treys, without a 3-point basket for more than 34 minutes, primarily due to the defense of sophomore Ricky Tarrant.

Those were coaching points A, B and C.



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