Thomas sinks go-ahead FTs late, Green Wave sinks UCF 75-74

Feb 22, 2021, 07:46 pm

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Teshaun Hightower scored 18 points and the last of his four steals led to Nic Thomas making three free throws with 7.8 seconds remaining and Tulane rallied past Central Florida 75-74 on Saturday

Tulane's Jordan Walker swiped the ball from UCF's Tony Johnson Jr. with three seconds remaining to seal the comeback. Tulane recorded 13 steals, scoring 17 points off 17 UCF turnovers.

K.J. Lawson led the Green Wave (12-15, 4-11 American Athletic Conference) with 21 points, making five 3-pointers, Christion Thompson added 15 points with nine rebounds. Thomas, who was 5-for-5 at the line, finished with eight points. Hightower also had five assists and Walker six steals.

Tulane, which snapped a nine-game losing streak earlier in the week, has now won its last two, rallying from 10 points down five times in the second half and outscoring the Knights 16-5 in the final 4:20.

Collin Smith had 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Knights (14-12, 5-9). Johnson added 15 points. Darin Green Jr. and Brandon Mahan each added 12 points.

Tulane plays Tulsa on the road on Tuesday. Central Florida takes on UConn on the road on Wednesday.

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Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights, http://www.automatedinsights.com/ap, using data from STATS LLC, https://www.stats.com