Tulane University
New Orleans
UNO Defeats Green Wave on Buzzer-Beater
Dec 3, 2003 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 3, 2003
NEW ORLEANS, La. - Kyle Buggs buried a buzzer-beating three-pointer from the corner to lift the University of New Orleans to a 69-66 victory over Tulane University in men's basketball action on Wednesday evening at Fogelman Arena.
After Tulane's Quincy Davis scored in the paint to give Tulane (3-1) a 66-64 lead with 50 seconds to go, but UNO's Johnell Smith knocked down a 10-foot jumper to tie the game for sixth time with 42 seconds to go. There were also 11 lead changes in the game.
The Green Wave worked the clock down, but Marcus Kinzer's 17-footer was just short and Davis' tip attempt was off the mark, giving the Privateers the ball with eight seconds to go. UNO (3-0) drove hard upcourt and A.J. Meredith found Buggs in the corner for the game-winner.
"You have to give UNO credit; they made a great adjustment to a full-court press in the second half and we didn't do what we needed to do," Tulane head coach Shawn Finney said. "Kyle Buggs played great in the second half; he stepped up and made plays like he is supposed to do like a senior and like a winner will do."
Buggs finished with a game-high 20 points, including 16 in the second half.
Tulane was led by sophomore Quincy Davis who posted his second double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Vytas Tatarunas also had his second double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Senior Wayne Tinsley chipped in with 13 points while junior Ben Benfield also hit double figures with 10 points.
A pair of free throws by Kinzer had given the Wave a 62-58 lead with 2:39 to go, but Buggs drilled a three and hit one-of-two free throws to knot the game at 62 with 2:07 remaining. Tinsley put Tulane back on top with a pair of free throws, but UNO responded quickly with a lay-in by big man Ben Elias.
With 8:55 to go in the game, Kinzer scored on a fast-break layup to give the Wave a 17-point advantage at 53-36. However, the Wave offense went cold as UNO chipped away.
Tulane shot just 39.3 percent (22-of-56) from the field, while UNO was at 38.5 percent (25-of-65). The Green Wave had 20 turnovers in the game, while the Privateers had just 16. The Wave shot a season-best 84 percent (21-of-25) from the line, while UNO hit just 15-of-30 foul shots.
The first half featured three ties and 10 lead changes, however, the Wave used an 8-0 to build a 31-24 advantage with 4:28 to go. Tulane held on to the seven-point edge with a 35-28 advantage at the break with Davis and Tatarunas each scoring eight.
Tulane returns to action on Saturday evening, playing future Conference USA member Rice University at Fogelman Arena at 7 p.m. Tickets are available by calling 504-861-WAVE.
