Tulane University
Nicholls St
Tulane Rallies in Second Half to Defeat Nicholls State
Dec 31, 2003 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 31, 2003
NEW ORLEANS, La. - Ben Benfield scored 13 second-half points as Tulane erased a 17-point first-half deficit and defeated Nicholls State, 61-56, in men's basketball action on Wednesday afternoon at Fogelman Arena.
Tulane (6-4) trailed by as many as 17 points in the first half, but the Green Wave defense held Nicholls State (4-6) without a field goal for the first 10 minutes of the second half. During that stretch, the Wave outscored Nicholls, 23-6, to take a 43-37 advantage midway through the half. Benfield scored eight points in that run.
Benfield led the Wave with his only points coming in the second half, while sophomore Vytas Tatarunas tallied 11 points with six rebounds.
Nicholls was led by Willie Depron's game-high 14 points, although only four came in the second half as Tulane's Wayne Tinsley draped him defensively. Depron hit just one of nine shots in the second half. Tinsley finished with eight points, eight rebounds, five assists and four steals.
"I felt coming in that we might start sluggish," Tulane coach Shawn Finney said. "You have to give the guys credit; they fought hard and found a way to win the game. We did a good job down the stretch. We shot the lights in the second half and we got 12 transition points."
Nicholls State jumped out early, building a 29-12 advantage with 6:30 to go, but Tulane closed the half with an 8-2 run to pull within 11 at 31-20 at the break.
"In the first half, we were playing four freshmen for extended minutes," Finney said. "I thought Chris Moore and Kory Castine carried us and gave us the spark in the first half. Kory's energy on the glass gave us the lift we needed."
Castine played a season-high 12 minutes, scoring his first career points and snagging four rebounds. Moore connected in his first career three-pointers and finished with six points.
Tulane returns to action next Wednesday evening, Jan. 7, hosting nationally-ranked Cincinnati at 7 p.m. Tickets are available by calling 504-861-WAVE or visiting the official Tulane website at www.TulaneGreenWave.com.
