Tulane University
Southern (B.R.)
Spann Leads Tulane Over Southern
Dec 30, 2000 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 30, 2000
NEW ORLEANS, La. - Sophomore Brandon Spann (New Orleans, La.) matched his career-high with 26 points to lead Tulane University to an 82-75 victory over Southern University in men's basketball action on Saturday evening at the New Orleans Arena.
Sophomore Brandon Brown (Houma, La.) and junior Linton Johnson (Chicago, Ill.) each added double-doubles in the win for Tulane (6-5). Brown had 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Johnson had 12 points, 11 rebounds, and six blocked shots. Freshman Wayne Tinsley (Fontana, Calif.) had a career-high 15 points, while senior Ledaryl Billingsley (Chicago, Ill.) added 13 points.
Spann made the play of the game with 2:02 remaining, picking off a Jaguar pass, his sixth steal of the game, and taking the ball the length of the court for a layup to put Tulane on top, 74-73. The Wave would not trail again.
"We needed a stop right then," Spann said. "I was just in the right position. I knew they were going to pass it there, because they had run that play all night."
Southern (4-5) had two opportunities but could not score and Billingsley buried a pair of free throws with 1:21 to go. The Jaguars followed with a rebound dunk, but Tinsley converted a three-point play on a hard drive to make it 79-75 with 31 seconds remaining. Another Jaguar miss was followed by a Brown free throw and a breakaway dunk by Tinsley to close the game.
"At the last TV timeout, I told them it's now or never," said Tulane head coach Shawn Finney. "We had to find it within us and make the extra effort. They (Southern) had their hands on their knees and we had to go out and lay it all on the line. After Southern got the lead, our guys stepped up and we went on an 8-2 run to end the game. That's what I think is big. It's a growing point for our team. We led the whole way, then fell behind by one. We went down, we could've crumbled but we responded and found a way to win the basketball game."
Tulane led for the entire game, building the advantage to as many as nine, but Southern used a 16-7 run midway through the second half to take the 73-72 advantage with 2:30 to go.
Southern was led by Courtney Henderson, who scored 24 points.
Tulane shot 53.8 percent from the floor in the game, but just 44.0 percent in the second half. The Wave also committed 25 turnovers, but held a 43-37 advantage on the boards. Southern shot 42.7 percent from the field.
The Green Wave is back in action on Wednesday evening, hosting Lamar University at Fogelman Arena. Game time is 7 p.m.
