Tulane University
Memphis
Memphis Holds Off Second Half Tulane Rally
Jan 20, 2004 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 20, 2004
NEW ORLEANS, La. - Quincy Davis scored 21 points, but it was not enough as Tulane University lost 85-71 to the University of Memphis in Conference USA men's basketball action on Tuesday evening at Fogelman Arena.
Tulane (6-8, 0-4 C-USA) trailed by as many as 17 in the first half, but a 22-6 run from late in the opening stanza into the second half pulled the Green Wave within one. A baseline three-pointer from freshman Dan Fitzgerald with 16:20 to go in the game capped the run with the Wave trailing 44-43.
Memphis (11-4, 2-2 C-USA) recovered with three free throws from freshman Sean Banks, but a pair of Davis free throws made it 47-45 with 15:54 on the clock. However, the Tigers' Rodney Carney scored nine points to spark an 18-3 Memphis burst which put the Tigers on top 65-48 with 11:01 remaining.
"You've got to give Memphis credit," Tulane coach Shawn Finney said. "They hit their threes and they just out-manned us. Every time we made a run, they answered the call. They exploited our youth and our lack physical play."
Memphis connected on 10-of-23 three-point attempts in the game while hitting 50 percent (27-of-54) of their overall shots. The Green Wave shot 42.3 percent (22-of-52) from the field and 38.9 percent (7-of-18) from three. Tulane was 20-of-31 from the foul line while the Tigers were 21-of-29. Memphis also held a 37-31 advantage on the boards.
"We didn't put our heads down," Finney said. "We played with three freshmen a lot of the second half. We were a much better team when Vy [Tatarunas] was in there; he gives us a presence, he can score inside and outside and he's a physical player."
Vytas Tatarunas scored just eight points with four rebounds before fouling out midway through the second half. Freshmen Vincent Camper, Chris Moore, Kory Castine and Fitzgerald all played 10 minutes or more in the game.
After trailing by 17 with 11 minutes to go, Tulane used 14-7 run, which included seven points from the line, to pull within 10 at 72-62 with 4:15 to go. However, the Tigers had a big three-pointer from Burks and hit eight-of-10 free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.
"Every time we'd get close, we'd turn it over and they would make a big shot," Finney said. "We have guys who will take the shot; we've got to get guys to make the shot."
In addition to Davis' 21 points, senior Wayne Tinsley posted his second consecutive double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, Kinzer tallied 11 points and five assists in the loss.
Memphis was led by 19 points from Banks, while Burks finished with 16 points and six assists. Carney scored 15 points off the bench and Anthony Rice chipped in with 13.
Tulane returns to action on Saturday evening, playing its final non-league game of the year against Savannah State at 7 p.m. at Fogelman Arena. Tickets are available for the game by calling 504-861-WAVE.
