Kyler Edwards' 20 points, 8 assists, and 7 boards leads Houston to 86-66 win over 5-seed Tulane in AAC semifinal game

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UPDATED: March 12, 2022 -- 7:27 p.m. CT

POSTED: March 12, 2022 -- 4:55 p.m. CT

FORT WORTH, TX -- (Dickies Arena)

Saturday, afternoon, the Houston Cougars (28-5 overall) defeated the Tulane Green Wave in the first semifinal game of the 2022 American Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Championship.

Houston trailed Tulane 9-2; and, Houston Head Coach Kelvin Sampson called a quick timeout to take Houston forward Fabian White Jr out of the game. White's back tightened up on him during warm ups; and, his sore back limited his mobility while he was in the game and Tulane capitalized on the advantage.

"It wasn't Fabian's fault," Coach Sampson said after the game. "His back was bothering him. We were playing 6 on 4."

With an injured White on the bench, J'Wan Roberts came into the game and sparked an 11-0 Houston run. Tulane answered to lead 16-15 before Kyler Edwards sank a three-point shot to put Houston on top 18-16. Teammate Ramon Walker followed with a three-pointer to stretch Houston's lead to 21-16.

Tulane pulled within two 3 times; but, Taze Moore and Ramon Walker (again) knocked down threes to increase Houston's lead to 33-25 with 4:17 left in the opening half.

Houston led 37-29 at halftime. Houston big man Josh Carlton scored 10 points in the half to lead Houston. Kyler Edwards added 8 points and 3 boards.

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Houston outscored Tulane 18-0 in second-chance points in the first half; and, that dominance continued in the second half. Houston outscored Tulane 30-0 in second-chance points in the game.

"We scored 30 points off our 2nd-chance points," Coach Sampson said after the game. "That takes a lot of pressure off our shooters."

Jamal Shead and Kyler Edwards each sank a three-point shot to stretch Houston's lead to 45-33; then, Josh Carlton scored a layup to increase the margin to 14 with 16:25 on the game clock.

Tulane's Jadan Coleman converted a three-point play; and, teammate Jaylen Forbes made a jumper in the paint to trim Houston's lead to 47-38. Kyler Edwards, once again, sank a three-pointer to end Tulane's run. J'Wan Roberts scored a jump hook in the paint before Reggie Chaney finished a fast break with a slam dunk.

Houston led 54-38 after Chaney's dunk. Houston led 60-42 when Edwards made another three-point shot to give the Coogs a 63-42 lead.

The next few minutes, both team's got hot from offense (or slacked off defensively). Houston made 7 of 8 field goal attempts and Tulane sank 5 of 6 field goal tries.

Houston led by as much as 22 points in the closing seconds of the game.

Kyler Edwards filled the stat sheet with 20 points, a career-high tying 8 assists, and 7 rebounds. Edwards made 6 of 12 three-point attempts including 4 for 6 threes in the second half.

"It's hard to be more solid than that," Coach Sampson said of Edwards' performance. "That's an outstanding night for one of your senior leaders."

"I thought Kyler was in total control of his emotions. Total control of his game."

J'Wan Roberts scored 10 points and pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds.

"Not bad for a left-hander coming out of the pen," Coach Sampson said of Roberts' filling in for Fabian White.

Houston (1-seed) will face the winner of the SMU (2-seed) / Memphis (3-seed) game on Sunday, March 13, at 2:15 p.m. CT on ESPN2.

CLICK HERE for The HRR's write-ups of Coogs' men's hoops games.