Tulane University
East Carolina
Late Run Lifts ECU over Tulane
Jan 15, 2011 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 15, 2011
Box Score | Box Score in PDF Format 
GREENVILLE, N.C. - In a game of runs, East Carolina used the last one, outscoring the Tulane men's basketball team 10-1 over the final 4:17 of the game to break a 66-66 tie and go on to defeat the Green Wave, 76-67, in a Conference USA match-up on Saturday afternoon in Minges Coliseum.
The Green Wave (12-5, 2-2 C-USA), who led by as many as nine points in the first half, overcame a seven-point deficit in the second half to tie the score five times, but could never retake the lead.
"ECU made the plays when they needed to make them, but I'm proud of our guys and their effort," Tulane head coach Ed Conroy said. "We showed a lot of fight today and were very competitive. We just had a couple lapses that hurt us. We had a chance at the end of the first half, but we did not finish that half execution wise and we did not start the second half well. We will build on this and get better."
The first big run of the game came after Tulane led 7-2 early. ECU (9-7, 1-1 C-USA) rattled off a 15-2 run to take a 17-9 lead with 11:17 left in the first half. The Green Wave then answered with a 21-4 run of their own over the next six-plus minutes to take a nine-point lead, 30-21, with 3:36 remaining.
The Pirates then outscored Tulane 6-2 to end the half, giving the Green Wave a 31-28 halftime lead.
ECU's run did not end a halftime as the Pirates opened the second half scoring 11 of the first 13 points to take a 39-33 lead with 17:13 remaining.
Tulane chipped away over the next 10 minutes to tie the score at 59 with 5:45 remaining. The score would be tied three more times in the following minutes before ECU pulled away with their 10-1 run.
Jordan Callahan was a big reason Tulane was able to mount a comeback. The sophomore guard scored 16 of his career-high tying 22 points in the second half, including four big second half 3-pointers. His first three came after ECU built the seven point lead, his second after the Pirates re-took a six-point lead, his third cut the deficit back to two and his final long range shot tied the game at 59.
David Booker led the Green Wave in the first half. The senior forward scored 11 of his season-high 19 in the opening 20 minutes. Booker added six rebounds to help lead Tulane outrebound ECU, 32-29. Kendall Timmons, who finished with 10 points, added seven boards and Kris Richard has seven rebounds to go with nine points.
Tulane shot 42.6 percent from the floor in the game, including knocking down eight 3-pointers.
ECU connected on 48.9 percent from the floor, including 61.9 percent in the second half. The Pirates also hit eight 3-pointers.
Jontae Sherrod led the Pirates with 24 points, 18 of which were scored in the second half. Darrius Morrow added 14 points and seven rebounds for ECU, while Erin Straughn had seven points and nine boards.
Tulane will have the week off before returning to the court next Saturday when Tulsa visits Fogelman Arena for a 2 p.m. CST Conference USA contest. The game will be broadcast live on Cox Sports Television.
Game Notes
- Jordan Callahan scored in double figures in the 15th game of the season and 19th game in his career with his career-high tying 22 points tonight. It also marks his 12th straight double figure scoring game. His 22 matches his career-high and is the fourth 20-plus point game of his career.
- David Booker scored in double figures in the seventh game of the season and 13th game in his career with his season-high 19 points today.
- Kendall Timmons recorded the 16th double figure scoring game of the season and the 31st of his career with his 10 points today. He has now scored in double figures in 15 straight games.
