Tulane University
Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt Tops Tulane 66-46 In Men's Basketball Action
Dec 7, 2002 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 7, 2002
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Another second-half comeback by Tulane University fell short as the Green Wave dropped a 66-46 decision to Vanderbilt University in men's basketball action on Saturday evening at Memorial Gym.
Tulane drops to 3-4 with the loss while the red-hot Commodores improve to 5-1. The Green Wave was led by senior Brandon Brown, who tallied 13 points and nine rebounds.
Vanderbilt's defense held the Wave to just 32.8 percent shooting (19-of-58) in the game; and the Wave also committed 17 turnovers. Vandy shot 43.3 percent (26-of-60) and had 14 turnovers.
"I have to give Vanderbilt credit," Tulane coach Shawn Finney. "But we did have some easy shots we needed to make. We have to find five guys who can make some shots."
Two free throws by Vandy's Mario Moore built the Wave deficit to 42-30 with 12:24 to go, but the Tulane press keyed an 8-2 run. Brown scored inside to ignite the run and three dunks capped the stretch. Waitari Marsh picked off a pass and went the length of the court for the first slam; Brown snagged a rebound and found a breaking Wayne Tinsley for another dunk; and Tinsley added a steal and breakaway jam to pull Tulane within six at 44-38 with 8:28 to go.
"The press was effective," Finney said. "It wore them down some, but in the end, it wore us down as well."
The two teams traded back-to-back hoops making it 48-42 with 6:02 to go, but Vanderbilt had three straight stops, scoring four points for a 52-42 edge with 4:52 remaining.
Karl Hollingsworth converted a hoop in the paint, but Vandy's Matt Freije broke free for a wide-open three-pointer and it was 55-44 with 3:36 to go. Another Wave turnover was followed by an old-fashioned three-point play by Brian Thornton and the game was out of reach at 58-44 with 2:58 to go.
Hollingsworth scored again in the paint, but those would be the final points for the Wave, which dropped its second in a row on the road.
Tulane returns to action on Tuesday, hosting nationally-ranked Kentucky at the New Orleans Arena at 8 p.m. Finney coached at Kentucky for three years before taking over the reins of the Tulane program.
"UK looked good today, beating UNC on the road," Finney said of his former team. "They are playing as a team and that makes anyone tough to beat."
Tickets for the Kentucky game are available by calling 504-861-WAVE or Ticketmaster.
