Tulane University
UCF
Green Wave Can't Hold Off UCF, 62-54
Feb 13, 2010 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 13, 2010
ORLANDO, Fla. - Turnovers and missed free throws plagued the Tulane men's basketball team on a day that everything else seemed to go well as the Green Wave fell, 62-54, to UCF on Saturday afternoon in UCF Arena.
Tulane (7-17, 2-9 C-USA) shot 46.7 percent from the floor, outrebounded UCF (12-12, 4-6 C-USA) and held the lead for much of the game, but the Green Wave turned the ball over 19 times and made just nine of 19 free throws.
"I am disappointed in our lack of patience and lack of toughness as far as the ball handling and the turnovers," Tulane head coach Dave Dickerson said. "If you look at those two areas (turnovers and free throws) those are the areas that made the outcome the way it was tonight."
The Green Wave led by eight with 9:43 left in the game after a 3-pointer by Johnny Mayhane made the score 47-39, but the Knights used a 10-1 run to take the lead for good with 3:51 remaining. The back breaker was a 3-pointer by A.J. Rompza that pushed UCF into the lead. Rompza also knocked down a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired with 0:27 remaining in the game to give UCF a 59-52 lead. The Knights outscored Tulane 22-7 over the final 9:43 of the game.
13 of Tulane's 19 turnovers came in the second half and the Green Wave hit just five of 11 from the free throw line in the final 20 minutes, including the five attempts in the final 1:43 of the game.
"Hats off to UCF they really did a good job the last eight minutes of the game," Dickerson added. "They really executed well, made some difficult shots, the made their free throws and really capitalized on our miscues. But, I thought our effort was really outstanding tonight. Kevin Sims really played and gave us a boost that this team needed."
Sims, playing in his first game since injuring his wrist on Jan. 9, had nine points and three assists in 31 minutes.
Tulane led the over 15 minutes of the first half and took its first lead on a jumper by Aaron Holmes with 15:17 remaining to make the score 7-6. The Green Wave then built as much as a six-point lead on two occasions, one after a Jordan Callahan lay-up made it 15-9 with 11:13 left in the half and the other after a pair of Eric Vianney free throws made it 17-11 at the 9:48 mark.
The Green Wave led 29-24 after a 3-pointer by Kevin Sims with 3:15 left in the half before UCF scored six of the final seven points of the half to pull to a 30-30 tie at the break.
Tulane then scored the first four points of the second half to regain the lead and led until the 3-pointer by Rompza at the 3:51 mark.
Kendall Timmons led the way for Tulane with 12 points, while Asim McQueen added 10 points and a game-high six rebounds. Vianney and David Booker each posted seven points and four rebounds for the Green Wave.
Rompza led all scorers with 17 points, while Isaac Sosa added 13 points off the bench.
Tulane shot 46.7 percent from the floor in the game and hit 52.9 percent in the second half. UCF shot 46.8 percent and made 11 of22 second in the final 20 minutes.
The Green Wave did grab 29 rebounds to the Knights 28, but UCF scored 20 points off of the 19 Tulane miscues.
Tulane returns home for a two-game home stand starting Wednesday's against Memphis at 6 p.m. CST on CSS Television. The Green Wave then host Marshall in Fogelman Arena on Saturday 7 p.m. CST.
Tickets for those next two home games and the season's final home game against Houston on Feb. 6 are available at the Tulane Athletics Ticket Office or by calling (504) 861-WAVE.
GAME NOTES
- Kevin Sims started today's game, his first start since Jan. 9 against UAB. Sims missed eight games with a non-displaced fracture in his right ulna bone.
- Tulane's starting lineup of Kevin Sims, Aaron Holmes, Eric Vianney, David Booker and Terrance Beasley is the 10th different lineup the Green Wave has started this season.
- Kendall Timmons scored in double figures for the eighth time this season and the 10th game of his career with his 12 points today.
- Asim McQueen scored in double figures for the seventh time this season and the 20th game of his career with his 10 points today.
