Tulane University
Loyola (N.O.)
Men's Basketball Takes Charge in Second Half Against Loyola
Nov 25, 2002 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 25, 2002
NEW ORLEANS, La. - Tulane University came to life in the second half, burying 56 percent of its shots from the field to pull away for a 74-58 victory over Loyola on Monday evening at Fogelman Arena.
Tulane (1-1) was led by seniors Brandon Brown and Nick Sinville, who each scored 16 points, while senior Brandon Spann added 15 points. Brown added nine rebounds while Sinville had six boards.
Senior Byron Parker came off the bench to spark the Green wave throughout the game. He established new career-highs in nearly every category with seven points, four rebounds, two assists, three steals and one blocked shot.
After holding a one-point edge at the half, Tulane slowly built the lead to four at 39-35 with 15:37 to go. However, Sinville and Spann each scored five points to key a 17-2 surge which put the Green Wave on top 56-37 with 12:10 to go.
"You have to give Loyola credit, they came out in the first half and took it to us. They were a scrappy, scrappy team," Tulane head coach Shawn Finney said. "Our press and out athleticism wore them down in the second half.
"In the first 13 minutes of the second half, we played the way we are supposed to play."
The Wave continued to come together, working the ball inside to take advantage of its size. Byron Parker had a fast break dunk, Sinville scored in the paint, Wayne Tinsley knocked down three-of-four foul shots and Brown had a fast-break dunk and another pair of free throws to build the lead to a game-high 25 points at 68-43.
Loyola continued to battle however, outscoring the Wave 15-6 to account for the final margin.
"We did a great job of handling the basketball until the last 12 possessions of the game, when we had turnovers on eight of our last 12," Finney added.
For the game, Tulane had just 16 turnovers, while forcing 23 itself. Tulane shot 56.3 percent (18-of-32) from the field in the second d half, after hitting just 41.4 percent (12-of-29) of its first-half efforts. For the second game in a row Tulane held its opponent below 40 percent as the Wolfpack shot just 35.5 percent (22-of-62).
Loyola was led by Matt Truax, who had 21 points, while Chad Barnes added 20.
After trailing for much of the first half, Tulane used a steal from Marcus Kinzer and a Spann layup with 15 seconds to go to take a 28-27 lead at the break.
Tulane is back in action on Thanksgiving Day, hosting Maine in the first round of the University Hoops Classic at Fogelman Arena. The other first round match-up pits Wisconsin-Milwaukee against Southeast Missouri.
"This is a tough week, with a lot of game, four in six days," Finney said. "We won't be eating any turkey for Thanksgiving."
