Tulane University
Houston
Tulane Men Win Second Straight C-USA Game
Feb 11, 2004 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 11, 2004
NEW ORLEANS, La. - Junior Marcus Kinzer scored 12 points and snagged a career-high 10 rebounds to lead Tulane University over the University of Houston, 77-63, in Conference USA men's basketball action on Wednesday evening at Fogelman Arena.
Tulane (9-11, 2-7 C-USA) won its second in a row as the Green Wave had four players in double figures for the second straight game. Sophomore Quincy Davis led the Wave with 17 points and five blocks, while sophomore Vytas Tatarunas came off the bench to tally 16 points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots. Freshman Kory Castine added 10 points.
"It was a total team effort," Tulane coach Shawn Finney said. "Everyone contributed to the basketball game. Twenty-one assists show that the guys shared the basketball, we passed well and we had good looks off the penetration. When you share the ball, good things happen. We're growing as a basketball team."
The Green Wave asserted itself early in the paint and continued to attack inside throughout the game behind Davis, Tatarunas and Castine. Tulane outscored Houston (8-13, 2-8) in the paint by a 38-12 margin.
"When we get going inside, our team gets going, especially Quincy," Finney said. "He did a good job handling the traps tonight."
After a tight first half, Tulane opened the second half with a blast, burying its first six shots and collecting assists on all six of those attempts to build a 47-30 advantage with 15:33 to go.
Houston's Andre Owens (game-high 23 points) started to heat up, but Wave had six straight points from Castine and then Tatarunas took over the offense, scoring seven in a row for the Wave.
"Vy has been playing very well the last two games, like he did earlier in the season," Finney said. "He is rebounding and scoring and giving us a great lift off the bench."
A tip-in by Davis with 7:57 to go gave the Wave a 20-point lead at 62-42.
The Cougars still had a run in them however, as Owens capped a 10-2 run with a 26-foot three-pointer to make it 68-57 with three minutes to go. However, Kinzer took charge down the stretch, scoring seven unanswered points on a swooping layup, a pair of free throws and a three-pointer with Tinsley assisting on both field goals. After the Kinzer run, the Wave was up 75-57 with a minute remaining.
The 21 assists was a season-high in league play for the Wave, as was its 49.1 percent (28-of-57) shooting from the field. Tulane also shot 70 percent (14-of-20) from the line and only turned the ball over 12 times. Houston shot 33.9 percent (20-of-59) from the floor and 64.0 percent (16-of-25) from the line. The Cougars held a slim 40-39 edge on the glass.
Next up for the Green Wave is Senior Day this Saturday. Tulane hosts TCU at 7 p.m. and prior to the game seniors George Brown, Marc Siegel and Wayne Tinsley will be honored. Tickets are available by calling 504-861-WAVE.
