Tulane University
Southern Miss
Tulane Falls To Southern Mississippi, 78-63
Feb 24, 2001 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 24, 2001
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The University of Southern Mississippi connected on 77 percent of its second-half free throws to hold off Tulane University, 78-63, in Conference USA men's basketball action on Saturday afternoon at Green Coliseum.
Tulane (9-18, 2-12 C-USA) was led by senior Ledaryl Billingsley (Chicago, Ill.), who tallied 20 points and nine rebounds. It was his 11th 20-point game of the season. Sophomore Brandon Spann (New Orleans, La.) added 12 points and seven assists, while sophomore Brandon Brown (Houma, La.) had 10 points and six boards.
The Green Wave fell behind by 12 midway through the second half as Brad Richardson knocked down a pair of free throws with 11:08 to go to make it 53-41. However, three straight hoops from Billingsley, Brown and junior Linton Johnson (Chicago, Ill.) cut it to six with 9:33 to go. Unfortunately, the Wave committed three straight turnovers and the Golden Eagles capitalized, scoring each time to push the lead to 14 at 61-47 with 8:12 to go. Southern Miss (19-7, 9-5) then settled into a rhythm at the line, connecting on eight-of-10 attempts in the final 6:08 to clinch the win.
USM had built a 17-point lead in the first half behind the three-point shooting of David Wall, who had four trifectas in the half on route to a 16-point game. However, Tulane closed the half with four three-pointers of its own. Billingsley opened the shooting streak, followed by two from Spann and one from freshman Ivan Pjevcevic (Belgrade, Yugoslavia) to cut the deficit to four at 34--30 at the break.
Tulane was victimized by 22 turnovers, which the Golden Eagles converted into 29 points. The Wave shot 40 percent from the field, while USM hit 50.0 percent of its efforts from the floor. Tulane held a slim 31-30 advantage on the glass, but was outscored, 25-15, from the free-throw line.
Southern Miss was led by big man Vandarel Jones, who had 22 points. Mel Cauthen added 18 points.
Tulane is back in action on Wednesday, playing at Conference USA rival Saint Louis at 7 p.m.
