Tulane University
Rice
Tulane Men Upended In Season Opener at Rice
Nov 22, 2002 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 22, 2002
NEW ORLEANS, La. - A slow start on offense doomed Tulane University in the opening game of its 93rd men's basketball season as it lost 72-58 to Rice University at Autry Court on Friday evening.
The Green Wave was led by seniors Brandon Brown, Brandon Spann and Waitari Marsh, who each cracked double figures. Brown and Marsh both had 14, while Spann tallied 12. All of Marsh's points came in the second half.
Tulane scored just 21 first-half points while shooting 32 percent from the floor in the opening stanza as Rice built a 33-21 advantage at the break.
"In the first half, we were extremely tentative; we couldn't get in a flow," Tulane head coach Shawn Finney said. "We dug a hole and we couldn't get out of it."
Rice continued to roll opening the second half, using a 20-10 run to build the lead to 53-31 with 9:21 to go. However, the Green Wave came to life as Marsh keyed a 20-8 spurt which pulled the Wave within 10 at 61-51 with 3:19 to go.
Down the stretch, Rice connected on its free throws, finishing 22-of-26 (84.6 percent) from the line, including 11-of-12 foul shots in the final 4:14.
"In the second half, we played a little better," Finney said. "We fought back to 10 and had a chance. We played the way we are supposed to for the final 10 minutes; the way we need to for 40 minutes."
The Wave defense held the Owls to just 32.3 percent (10-of-31) shooting in the second half. For the game, Tulane shot 38.2 percent, while Rice was at 37.9 percent from the field. Rice held a 40-35 advantage on the boards, including 11 offensive rebounds on the night.
"We can learn a lot from this," Finney said. "We see where we are. The guys may have been reading their press clippings."
Tulane returns to action on Monday evening with its home opener against neighboring Loyola University at 7 p.m. in Fogelman Arena. Tickets are available by calling 504-861-WAVE.
