Tulane University
UCF
Tulane Men Upended in University Hoops Classic
Nov 29, 2002 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 29, 2002
NEW ORLEANS, La. - A second-half rally fell short for Tulane University as it lost in the second round of the University Hoops Classic, 66-61, to UCF in men's basketball action on Friday evening at Fogelman Arena.
The Wave was led for the second night in a row by seniors Brandon Spann and Brandon Brown. After each scoring 18 in the opening night, the inside-outside duo each scored 17 points on Friday. Both also tallied five assists while Brown added eight rebounds in the loss. With Spann's fifth-point of the game, a free throw with 6:36 to go in the first half, he became the 25th 1,000-point scorer in Tulane history.
"Brandon Spann has been a great player for us and he has been very effective offensively," Tulane coach Shawn Finney said. "That [scoring 1,000 points] is an honor and something he will cherish the rest of his life."
Tulane (2-2) struggled offensively in the first half, connecting on just 31.8 percent (7-of-22) of its shots. The Wave heated up in the second half, but still finished the game at just 37.3 percent (22-of-59). UCF (2-1) also controlled the boards with a 43-34 advantage.
"We got some good shots; shots that we wanted," Finney said. "Their zone just made us stagnant; the zone was a good call, it slowed us down."
Tulane trailed 29-23 at the break and opened the second half cold as well, as UCF built the advantage to 11 points at 37-26 with 17:46 to go. However, sophomore Ben Benfield (career-high 13 points) nailed back-to-back three-pointers to jump start a 15-2 Green Wave surge which put Tulane on top 41-39 with 14:06 to go. Unfortunately, Tulane was harassed into 13 straight misses as the Knights scored 16 unanswered points to establish a 55-41 advantage before Brown stopped the bleeding with a strong move to the hoop at 7:25.
The Green Wave chipped the deficit down to six on a three-point play by Brown with 3:28 to go, but back-to-back turnovers helped UCF ice the victory. Five-of-six free throws in the final two minutes wrapped up the win for UCF, which will play Maine on Saturday at 5 p.m.
Tulane's defense was once again impressive, holding the Golden Knights to 38.9 percent from the field. None of the Wave's four opponents have shot over 40 percent this year.
Sparking the defense once again was Byron Parker, who played a career-high 28 minutes. The senior point guard tallied three points, three rebounds, two assists and career-bests of two blocks and five steals before fouling out in the second half.
"We held a team to 38 percent shooting and only turned the ball over 12 times," Finney added. "We played a good game; we just have to find a way to score points. We did a better job in the second half."
Saturday's other game features Indiana State and Wisconsin-Milwaukee at 3 p.m. The championship game of the tourney will be played on Sunday at 5 p.m., following the fifth-place (1 p.m.) and third-place (3 p.m.) games.
