Tulane University
New Orleans
Tulane Drops Heartbreaker at Home to UNO
Dec 2, 2009 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 2, 2009
NEW ORLEANS - For the seventh time in the 45-game history of the men's basketball games between Tulane and New Orleans the outcome ended in a one-point differential. This time UNO defeated Tulane 51-50 on Wednesday night in Fogelman Arena.
Tulane's (3-4) Kevin Sims' shot with less than three seconds remaining in the game fell off the outside of the rim and the final buzzer sounded. The Green Wave was down one at that point after UNO's (4-2) Ejike Hart scored with 9.7 seconds remaining to give the Privateers the 51-50 lead.
The Green Wave led for all but 0:30 of the game and UNO's first lead did not come until a Charles Carmouche free throw put the Privateers up 49-48 with 1:12 left. A pair of free throws by Tulane's David Booker put his team back up, 50-49 with 0:52 left.
"Take nothing away from UNO tonight," Tulane head coach Dave Dickerson said. "They made the plays in the second half to win the game. They were the tougher team tonight."
Sims led Tulane with 17 points, while Kris Richard added 12 points and three assists. Sims poured in 13 in the opening half and guided Tulane to a 30-23 lead. In fact, Sims scored eight of Tulane's first 15 points to give the Green Wave a 15-2 lead less than six minutes into the game.
Tulane led at the half after shooting 46.4 percent from the floor. The second half was a different story as the Green Wave connected on five of 29 shots for 17.2 percent.
"There is no excuse for the way we played in the second half," Dickerson said. "We had some good looks and good opportunities, but the shots just did not fall."
The Green Wave led 40-30 with 13:43 left in the game after Sims knocked down a pair of free throws and then led 43-33 after a Booker 3-pointer with 12:30 left. Tulane would score just seven points the rest of the game.
UNO shot 37.5 percent in the first half and made 11 of 33 shots in the final 20 minutes. The Privateers also outrebounded Tulane, 47-38.
Devin McDonald led UNO with 17 points and Carmouche added 11. Jaroslav Tyrna had nine points and 13 rebounds, while Billy Humphrey chipped in eight points and 10 rebounds.
Tulane will travel to Bowling Green, Ky., for a Sunday tilt with Western Kentucky at 1 p.m. CST in E.A. Diddle Arena.
GAME NOTES
- With the win, UNO now leads the series 23-22. This was the seventh time in the series the game was decided by one point.
- With his layup early in the first half, senior Kevin Sims scored his eighth point and moved into 20th place on Tulane's career scoring list. Sims finished the game with 17 points which puts him ahead of Waitari Marsh into 20th with 1,163 career points.
- With his third free throw tonight, Kevin Sims moved into eighth-place on Tulane's career made free throw list. He passed Paul Thompson and now has 345.
