Tulane University
Southern Miss
Southern Miss Defeats Tulane in Men's Basketball Action
Jan 31, 2004 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 31, 2004
NEW ORLEANS, La. - Marcus Kinzer matched his career-high with 17 points, but it was not enough for Tulane University as it fell, 64-58 to Southern Miss in Conference USA men's basketball action on Saturday evening at Fogelman Arena.
Tulane (7-10, 0-6 C-USA) took a 34-32 lead early in the second half on a Kinzer floater in the lane, but Southern Miss (10-8, 3-4) used a 10-0 run to take a 42-34 lead with 12:45 to go.
The Green Wave used four free throws each from Wayne Tinsley and Kory Castine and a three-pointer from Chris Moore to cut the deficit to 42-41 with 9:46 to go, but the Golden Eagles responded with a 9-4 run to go ahead 53-45 with 3:25 to go. In the final six minutes of the game, it was big man Charles Gaines who took charge, scoring 10 points including two hoops from offensive rebounds, while USM hit 7-of-9 free throws over the final 3:25.
"It got down the stretch and they made the plays," Tulane head coach Shawn Finney said. "We had opportunities but we missed free throws and we missed jumpers. We've got to make plays down the stretch. Gives Gaines credit, he got big rebound after big rebound in the second half. He is a senior; he's a man; he played against freshmen and sophomores tonight and it showed at times."
Freshman Kory Castine, who made his first career start, responded with his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, both career-highs. Senior Wayne Tinsley added 10 points, six rebounds, five assists and just one turnover in the loss. However, it was Kinzer who led the offense with his 17 points while controlling the ball for the bulk of the game.
"Marcus is playing very heady; he's playing very well," Finney said. "He's staying within himself and guiding the offense."
Gaines recorded 17 points with 13 rebounds, while Jarekus Singleton scored a game-high 19 points for Southern Miss.
Tulane actually outrebounded the Golden Eagles (38-33) and shot better from the foul line and from the field, but Southern Miss took advantage of Wave miscues. The Golden Eagles scored 14 points off 15 turnovers, while Tulane had just six points off nine Eagle turnovers. Southern Miss took nine more shots than the Wave.
"We're staying together; we're young and we're getting better," Finney said. "We have 10 guys on scholarship and six are freshmen and sophomores."
The Green Wave shot 43.8 percent (21-of-48) from the field and 66.7 percent (12-of-18) from the line, while Southern Miss shot 40.4 percent (23-of-57) from the field and 60.9 percent (14-of-23) from the stripe.
The Green Wave now travels to Chicago to play DePaul on Tuesday evening at 7:30 p.m. That game will also be televised on Cox Sports TV. Next Saturday, the Wave returns to Fogelman Arena, hosting South Florida at 7 p.m. Tickets are currently available by calling 504-861-WAVE.
