CONWAY, S.C. (AP) — Christion Thompson scored 25 points and Tulane held on to beat Middle Tennessee 86-74 on Friday in a Myrtle Beach Invitational consolation game.
Teshaun Hightower added 20 points and K.J. Lawson finished with 18 for the Green Wave (4-1). The difference came at the free-throw line, where Tulane was 26 of 30 while Middle Tennessee got to the line just seven times and made four.
The Green Wave led by 24 midway through the second half before the Blue Raiders (3-3) chipped away, closing to 79-71 on Tyson Jackson’s dunk with just over a minute left. Thompson followed with a dunk and Hightower hit two free throws to put Tulane back up by double figures.
C.J. Jones scored 20 points and Jayce Johnson finished with 11 for Middle Tennessee, which shot 52% but lost its third straight.
Tulane hit 12 3-pointers while the Blue Raiders were 10 of 26.
