Tulane closes fast to down Cal in SoCal Challenge

Kevin Cross scored 20 of his game-high 27 points in the second half and Tulane shot 69 percent after halftime to stop California 84-81 for third place in the SoCal Challenge early Thursday morning in San Juan Capistrano, Calif.

Sion James added 18 for the Green Wave, who canned 20 of 29 field-goal tries in the second half. Tulane (4-1) carved out key advantages of 24-11 in points off turnovers, 42-22 in paint points and 19-10 in fastbreak points.

Jaylon Tyson scored 24 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished out five assists for the Golden Bears (2-4), but it wasn't enough to prevent their fourth loss in five games. Fardaws Aimaq added 23 points and 14 rebounds but also committed seven of the team's 20 turnovers. Jalen Cone chipped in 18 points.

Cal led for most of the game's first 35 minutes but simply couldn't get stops down the stretch. Cross hit a layup with 3:29 left to give the Green Wave a 79-77 edge. He added a clinching foul shot with three seconds on the clock.

The Golden Bears controlled the boards 37-25 and hit 10 of 27 3-point attempts but blew an 11-point, second-half lead.

Cal used its defense to gain a foothold right away. Tulane experienced a 3:37 scoring drought early in the game and managed just five points in the first 7 1/2 minutes while Aimaq got off the mark with seven points for a 12-5 advantage.

The Green Wave closed within 18-17 with 6:49 left in the half when Gregg Glenn III put back his missed shot. But the Golden Bears quickly rattled off nine in a row, going ahead 27-17 on Tyson's 3-pointer with 4:22 left.

Another Tulane burst late in the half got it within 32-29 as James stroked a 3-pointer with four seconds left. However, Cal stole momentum going to the break when Tyson heaved in a 3-pointer from beyond the midcourt line, giving the Golden Bears a 35-29 cushion.

—Field Level Media