Tulane University
Rice
Tulane Opens C-USA With Victory at Rice
Jan 5, 2011 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 5, 2011
Box Score | Box Score in PDF Format 
HOUSTON - For the first time since the 2001-02 season the Tulane men's basketball team opened Conference USA play with a victory, overcoming 18 ties and lead changes to hang on and defeat Rice, 85-81, in Tudor Fieldhouse on Wednesday night.
The Green Wave (11-3, 1-0 C-USA) had not won a league opener since a 73-63 win at DePaul on Jan. 5, 2002.
"That is what conference basketball is all about," Tulane head coach Ed Conroy said. "It rises up a notch and our guys were ready for it and they stepped up to the challenge. I could not be happier and more proud of them."
The game saw 18 ties and 18 lead changes, but the last lead change came when Tulane's Aaron Holmes hit a lay-up with 3:51 remaining in the game to put the Green Wave up 65-63, breaking the final tie as well.
Tulane built as much as a three point lead four times after taking the lead for good, but Rice (8-7, 0-1 C-USA) refused to go quietly. The Owls cut the deficit down to a one possession game three times, but Tulane knocked down nine of the final 10 free throws in the last 0:50 of the game to secure the win.
Rice's Tamir Jackson's lay-up after a pair of Kendall Timmons' free throws with 0:32 remaining cut the lead to 78-74. Jordan Callahan then hit a pair of three throws with 0:27 left to regain a six-point lead. Rice's Cory Pflieger's 3-pointers three seconds later cut Tulane's lead to three, 80-77.
Kris Richard then knocked down a pair of free throws with 0:21 remaining made the score 82-77. Jackson then drove for a lay-up to make it a three point game again, before Callahan hit one of two free throws to make the lead 83-79 with 0:15 left.
Rice's Arsalan Kazemi then drove to the basket for a lay-up with 0:09 left to cut the deficit to 83-81. Callahan then iced the game by hitting both free throws with three seconds remaining.
Callahan finished the game with 12 points, all in the second half, including going seven for 10 from the line.
Richard led Tulane with a career-high 24 points, including knocking down a career-best six 3-pointers. Timmons added 19 points and 10 rebounds for his fifth double double of the season. He also knocked down 10 of 14 from the line.
Holmes ended the game with 13 points for the Green Wave, while Geoff Hogan chipped in with nine points off the bench, filling in for David Booker, who logged just nine minutes with four trouble. "This was a team effort. Guy after guy stepped up tonight when they were needed," Conroy said. "There were a lot of gutty plays out there."
Kazemi led the Owls with 28 points and 13 rebounds to go with four blocked shots. Jackson and Trey Stanton each chipped in with 12 points.
Tulane shot 51.1 percent from the floor in the game, including 52.2 percent in the second half. The Green Wave also hit 12 of 18 3-pointers, including Richard's six and Johnny Mayhane added a pair of big long range shots.
Rice connected on 55.6 percent from the floor, including 59.3 percent in the final 20 minutes.
Among the 18 ties in the game was halftime when the teams were deadlocked at 31. Tulane outscored Rice, 54-50, in the second half.
The Green Wave takes a five-game winning streak and will defend an eight-game home court winning streak on Saturday when they host SMU at 1 p.m. CST in Fogelman Arena.
GAME NOTES
- Tulane improved to 11-3, the best start to a season since the 1994-95 season when the Green Wave began 13-2.
- Tulane improved to 1-0 in C-USA for the first time since winning the conference opener on Jan. 5, 2002 at DePaul, 73-63.
- Kendall Timmons recorded his fifth double double of the season with 19 points and 10 rebounds tonight. It also marked the 13th double figure scoring game of the season and the 28th of his career.
- Kris Richard poured in a career-high 24 points tonight, marking his 10th double figure scoring for the 10th game this season and the 45th game of his career.
- Aaron Holmes scored in double figures in the eighth game this season and the 14th of game of his career with his 13 points tonight. He has reached double figures in seven straight games now.
- Jordan Callahan scored in double figures in the 12th game of the season and 16th game in his career with his 12 points tonight.
- Tulane has now won eight straight games against Rice.
