Tulane University
Houston
Houston Holds on to Top Tulane Men's Hoops
Feb 21, 2001 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 21, 2001
NEW ORLEANS, La. - The University of Houston spoiled Tulane's home finale, defeating the Green Wave, 81-76, in Conference USA men's basketball action on Wednesday evening at Fogelman Arena.
Senior Ledaryl Billingsley (Chicago, Ill.), playing in his final home game, scored 19 points, while sophomore Brandon Spann (New Orleans, La.) logged his third double-double of the season with 18 points and a career-high 11 assists. Freshman Wayne Tinsley (Fontana, Calif.) notched a career-high 16 points, while junior Linton Johnson (Chicago, Ill.) added 11 points/
Tulane (9-17, 2-11 C-USA) trailed 77-71 with 2:27 to go, but an offensive putback by Johnson keyed a 5-0 Tulane run. A Spann steal led to one-of-two free throws from sophomore Brandon Brown (Houma, La.). Then a Tinsley steal and layup made it 77-76 with 54 seconds to go. However, Houston's Dominic Smith, the second-best free throw shooter in the league buried a pair of foul shots to make it a three-point game with 43 seconds remaining. Tulane worked the ball around the horn and after a breakdown, Spann launched a three from the corner which was off the mark. The Cougars rebounded and Marcus Oliver knocked down a pair of free throws to ice the win with seven seconds to go.
"I should have made it," Spann said. "We ran a play to get me a shot, but it broke down. I still had a good look. It just didn't go down."
Billingsley was limited to 30 minutes as he sat for nearly 10 minutes in the second half due to foul trouble.
Houston (7-18, 4-9) was led by George Williams, who scored 22 points, leading five players in double figures. Patrick Okafor and Alton Ford each added 16 points.
"It was a frustrating night," Tulane head coach Shawn Finney said. "We were prepared. We knew exactly what they were going to do -- pound it inside with Ford and Williams. We got into foul trouble and couldn't get a rhythm. Ledaryl is our go to guy. Anytime he's on the bench, it's hard for us to perform."
Houston shot 65.4 percent from the field in the first half on route to a 43-34 edge at the break. In the game, the Cougars shot 58.3 percent. Tulane shot 46.2 percent.
"Defensively, you've got to want to play defense," Finney said. "Our guys have not decided they want to play good halfcourt defense."
Tulane also shot just 45.8 percent (11-of-24) from the foul line. Houston was at 71.9 percent (23-of-32). The teams were even on the boards at 34, though Tulane held a 17-9 edge on the offensive glass. The Wave also posted a season-low seven turnovers. Houston had 12 turnovers.
The Green Wave is back in action on Saturday, playing at Southern Miss at 12 noon.
