Tulane University
SMU
Men's Basketball Loses on the Road at SMU
Dec 2, 2000 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 2, 2000
DALLAS, Texas - Southern Methodist remained undefeated as it rolled to a 87-58 victory over Tulane University in men's basketball action on Saturday afternoon at Moody Coliseum.
Tulane (3-3) was led by senior Ledaryl Billingsley (Chicago, Ill.), who had 19 points with 12 rebounds. It was his fifth double-double in the season's first six games. Sophomore Brandon Brown (Houma, La.) added a career-high 15 rebounds and 11 points. Sophomore Brandon Spann (New Orleans. La.) had 15 points.
Southern Methodist (3-0), ranked No. 24 in the nation in the Sagarin ratings, has now won five straight home openers. The Mustangs were led by Damon Hancock's 20 points and 18 points from Quinton Ross. All-American Jeryl Sasser added a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
As it has all season, the Green Wave struggled in the first half, but rallied in the second half. Billingsley went to work in the paint, while Spann connected from outside, but it was not enough for the Green Wave. The potent Mustang offense matched Tulane in the closing stanza, clinching the 87-58 win.
"We put a lot of emphasis on scoring and trying to avoid these droughts," Tulane head coach Shawn Finney said. "We fall behind and it takes too much to comeback, especially against a team as experienced and skilled as SMU."
In the first half, SMU's defense held Tulane to just 19.4 percent (7-of-36) shooting from the field, as the Mustangs built a 44-18 lead at the break. SMU shot 43.8 percent (14-of-32) as eight different players scored in the opening stanza.
"We just don't have the depth and experience to go deep into our bench in the first half," Finney said.
Tulane shot 26.9 percent (18-of-67) for the game, while SMU was at 50.8 percent (33-of-65). The Green Wave was outrebounded, 54-44, despite a 19-15 advantage on the offensive glass.
Tulane returns to action on Tuesday, hosting Centenary at Fogelman Arena at 7 p.m. On Saturday, the Green Wave hosts the "Battle of Uptown" as next-door-neighbor Loyola visits Fogelman Arena for a 7 p.m. contest. It will be the first meeting between the two teams since the 1971-72 season.
