Tulane University
Tulsa
![Sophomore Donnie Stith led the Green Wave with 12 points on Saturday. [File photo by Ned Dishman]](https://images.sidearmdev.com/resize?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdxbhsrqyrr690.cloudfront.net%2Fsidearm.nextgen.sites%2Ftulanegreenwave.com%2Fimages%2F2006%2F3%2F4%2F101115.jpeg&height=300&type=webp)
Tulane Comeback Bid Comes Up Short at Tulsa
Mar 4, 2006 | Men's Basketball
March 4, 2006
TULSA, Okla. - Adversity is nothing new for the Tulane men's basketball team which has dealt with everything from hurricanes to injuries to illnesses to transfers. Therefore, trailing by 22 midway though the second half of its Conference USA finale against Tulsa on Saturday was not as daunting as it may have seemed. The Green Wave roared back, pulling within two with 42 seconds to go, but Tulsa hit a pair of free throws to clinch a 63-59 victory at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.
Despite losing its top two scorers to fouls, Tulane (11-16, 6-8 C-USA) used a small lineup, a tenacious press and clutch play-making for a 28-8 run to nearly erase a 53-31 deficit. However, Tulsa (11-16, 6-8 C-USA) used two free throws from Deion James with 13.2 clicks on the clock for a 63-58 advantage and then forced a pair of Green Wave misses to wrap up the victory.
With the loss, Tulane finishes the regular season in a three-way tie for sixth place in Conference USA. Due to league tie-breakers, the Wave slips to the No. 8 seed and will play No. 9 Marshall in the first round of the C-USA Championship on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the Fedex Forum in Memphis.
"After everything we've been through this year, I am proud of this team to have achieved what we have," Tulane head coach Dave Dickerson said. "After we were down by 22, we did not give up, we went out there and left it all on the court. They played with heart and pride and got us back in the game. Tonight just wasn't meant to be. I just hope we can carry the momentum of the last seven minutes into Wednesday."
Tulane had just 10 minutes and five points from senior center and leading scorer Quincy Davis, who fouled out with 9:00 minutes to go. Sophomore David Gomez, the Wave's second leading scorer, fouled out with 6:09 on the clock after scoring 11 points.
"Our two leading scorers just couldn't get into the game, mainly due to the quick fouls," Dickerson said. "That happens sometimes, especially on the road, but I had to split the game ball between Donnie Stith and Drew Garcia."
Stith, a sophomore, and Garcia, a junior, came off the bench to spark the comeback. Stith finished with a team-high 12 points and five rebounds while Garcia scored nine points with a team-high seven rebounds.
Tulsa opened the second half with a 28-10 streak to go up 53-31 with 8:31 to go. However, freshman Ryan Williams jump-started the Wave rally with an old-fashioned three-point play with 8:20 remaining. But the Golden Hurricane answered with a putback by Chris Wallace to push the margin back to 21 going into the eight-minute media timeout.
"At the eight-minute timeout, I just looked at the team and told them that we have been in tough situations all year," Dickerson said. "I told them that we need to draw on all of that now, and we did."
Gomez had a tip-in and one free throw and Williams hit another pair of foul shots to make it 56-39 with 6:20 to go before Gomez collected his fifth foul. But the Wave soldiered on.
Stith came off the bench to replace Gomez and buried back-to-back three-pointers, then a pair of free throws. After a Wave miss inside, Stith swooped across the lane, snared the rebound and slammed it home to cap a 12-0 run which made it 56-49 with 4:10 on the clock. Tulsa sandwiched three free throws around a Garcia three-pointer off the glass before Chris Moore swished a runner in the lane and Garcia nailed a pair of foul shot followed by a nifty reverse layup and the Greenies were within one at 59-58 with 1:21 remaining.
James shook off tough Wave defense and buried a tough runner in the lane to push the margin back to three with under a minute to go before Stith was fouled with 42.4 seconds to go. He hit one-of-two free throws to make it a two-point game, but Tulsa clinched it with the two late foul shots.
"I am very proud of the way we played on the road," Dickerson said. "We gave ourselves a chance at the end. Everybody did a great job of getting us back in the game. It's just tough to get wins this time of year."
For the game, the Wave shot 35.8 percent (19-of-53) while Tulsa connected on 50.0 percent (23-of-46) of its shots. Tulane had a 37-34 edge on the glass, including 16 offensive rebounds. The Green Wave turned the ball over 16 times while forcing 20 miscues. Moore finished with a career-high seven steals on the game, the most by a Wave player since Nov. 16, 2001 when Waitari Marsh had seven against Loyola.
Tulane trailed 25-21 at the half despite struggling mightily from the charity stripe. The Green Wave hit just 4-of-15 foul shots in the opening stanza.
