Tulane University
UAB
Kinzer Leads Green Wave to Fourth Straight Victory
Feb 8, 2003 | Men's Basketball
Feb 8, 2003
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -
Kinzer finished with a career-high 17 points to lead five Green Wave players in double figures. Nick Sinville posted a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 15 rebounds.
"Marcus is getting into a comfort-zone now that he is getting more minutes," Tulane coach Shawn Finney said. "He did it all for us tonight, scored points, directed the offense and worked hard on defense."
Tulane (11-10, 4-4 C-USA), which has now won four straight games, fell behind 60-56 with 3:40 to go, but Brandon Brown (10 points) put back a Wave miss and then Kinzer went to work.
Waitari Marsh (12 points) found the speedy sophomore for a fast break reverse layup to tie it up with 2:36 to go. Brown picked off a UAB pass at the opposite end of the floor and threw a long outlet to Kinzer who flipped home the go-ahead basket with 2:14 on the clock.
Eric Bush hit a three-pointer to put the Blazers back on top 63-62 but Kinzer answered with a short pull-up jumper with 1:24 remaining. After a UAB layup made it 65-64, Brandon Spann (10 points) took it hard to the hoop and was fouled on his shot, which counted after a goaltending call. The senior, who is fifth in the league in free-throw percentage connected on the foul shot to giver Tulane a 67-65 advantage with 27 clicks remaining.
UAB hit one of two free throws, but Kinzer closed it out with four straight free throws, the last two with two seconds remaining after a technical foul on UAB coach Mike Anderson.
"We showed a lot of courage tonight," Finney said. "We played like bulldogs in there, refusing to quit. There were times we could have given up, but we kept fighting."
Tulane held UAB to 39.7 percent (27-of-68) shooting while the Wave connected on 45.6 percent (26-of-57 ) of its shots, including 51.9 percent (14-of-27) in the second half. The Wave edged the Blazers on the glass, 38-37 while knocking down 76.2 percent of its free throws.
The two teams were tied at 30 at the half as the Wave turned it over 13 times (finishing with 19 total turnovers).
The Blazers used a 7-0 run early in the second half to take a 43-38 advantage. They would push it to eight on a Morris Finley three-pointer with 11:12 to go making it 50-42. However, the Wave slowly chipped away. A pair of free throws from Spann and Brown started a 9-2 run, capped by a three-pointer from Marsh and a Byron Parker fast-break layup to knot the game at 56.
"This was a big win for us," Finney said. "We had some confidence after winning two straight at home, and to get these two wins on the road is a huge boost for our team"
The Green Wave had defeated Houston on Tuesday.
Tulane is back in action on Thursday evening, hosting Memphis at 8 p.m. at Fogelman Arena. The game will be televised live by ESPN2. Tickets are available by calling 504-861-WAVE.
