NEW ORLEANS, La. – For the second time in three days, a 3-point basket with seconds remaining proved fatal for Marshall.
This time it came against Tulane, which got a clutch jumper from Jay Hook took with 1.4 seconds to play to give the Green Wave a 68-65 win Sunday afternoon at Devlin Fieldhouse.
Shawn Smith’s halfcourt heave at the buzzer was no good for Marshall (8-17, 2-8), which rallied from 15 points down in the second half.
The Herd’s Chris Thomas finished as the game’s leading scorer with 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field and 7-of-8 from the foul line, including two free throws that tied the game with 26 seconds left. Kareem Canty followed with 16 and Cheikh Sane with a career-high 11.
The Green Wave (13-11, 5-4 Conference USA), which evened the series at eight wins each, got 17 points and six assists from freshman guard Jonathan Stark, while Louis Dabney and Payton Henson each chipped in 14 points. Hook scored 11.
A 14-2 run put Tulane ahead 51-36 with 12:30 to play before nine straight points from Thomas helped the Herd work its way back into the game.
Sane’s putback tied it at 63 with 1:05 to play, but Stark made a driving layup with the shot clock winding down to put Tulane up 65-63 with 41 seconds left.
Marshall will have six days off between contests before taking on C-USA newcomer Charlotte on the road Saturday at 7 p.m.