Tulane University
New Orleans
Men's Basketball Runs Out of Gas Against UNO
Dec 21, 2000 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 21, 2000
NEW ORLEANS, La. - The University of New Orleans scored 51 second-half points to come from behind and defeat Tulane University, 78-63, in men's basketball action at Lakefront Arena on Thursday evening.
Tulane (5-4) led by as many as 16 in the first half and held a 33-27 halftime advantage. However, the Green Wave was playing its first game after a 12-day layoff for final exams, which completed on Thursday. The Privateers took advantage, outscoring Tulane, 51-30, in the second half.
"In the second half, you could tell the fatigue had set in after the 12 days off," Tulane head coach Shawn Finney said.
The Green Wave was led by senior Ledaryl Billingsley (Chicago, Ill.), who scored 19 points to go with eight rebounds. Sophomore Brandon Spann (New Orleans, La.) added 18 points in the loss, while freshman Wayne Tinsley (Fontana, Calif.) and sophomore Brandon Brown (Houma, La.) each added 10.
"Brandon Spann is our point guard, and you could see that he wore down," Finney said. "We have to get back to the condition we had before the layoff. That is going to be a trademark of this team, that we are in the best shape of any team in the country."
Tulane opened the second half hot, nailing its first eight shots. The Wave rebuilt its lead to 12 points on a Billingsley dunk at 16:55, which made it 43-31. However, a jumper by Brown gave Tulane its final 10-point lead at 49-39 with 13:38 to go. UNO's Ricky Marlowe erupted, keying a 20-3 run, which out the Privateers in command, 59-52 with 6:08 remaining.
"Things started going their way," Spann said. "Basketball is a game of spurts, we just have to learn to respond to their spurts. They're a good team."
The Wave cut the deficit to four on five occasions, but could get no closer, as Marlowe (20 points) and Tory Walker (20 points) put the game away down the stretch.
Tulane is one of the thinnest teams in the nation, with just nine players, including two walk-ons, on its roster. All five Wave starters played at least 34 minutes. Tinsley scored all of his points in the first half, while Spann scored 10 in the opening stanza. Interestingly, it was just the second game all season in which Tulane held a halftime advantage. The Wave had come from behind in four of its wins this year.
"We didn't play as hard as we did in the first half," Tinsley said. "We still can't put two halves together."
The loss snapped Tulane's modest two-game winning streak in the city rivalry. The Wave still holds a 19-15 advantage in the all-time series. The defeat also ends the Green Wave's 13-game winning streak against teams from the State of Louisiana.
Tulane returns to action following the holiday, hosting No. 9 Florida in game one of the Nokia Sugar Bowl Classic Doubleheader at the New Orleans Arena. The Green Wave and Gators tip off at 7 p.m., followed by LSU vs. Oregon State.
