Tulane University
Jacksonville State
Solid Defense Leads Green Wave over JSU, 59-51
Dec 11, 2011 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 11, 2011
NEW ORLEANS - A solid defensive showing was what guided the Tulane men's basketball team to a 59-51 victory over Jacksonville State Sunday night in the final game of the Skip Prosser Tournament held at Fogelman Arena.
The Green Wave (11-1), off to the best start since the 1991-92 season was 16-1, held Jacksonville State (3-7) to just 35.2 percent shooting for the game and came up with some big defensive stops in the final two-plus minutes of the game.
After the Gamecocks cut the deficit to 52-49 with 2:18 remaining in the game with a lay-up by Brian Williams, Tulane buckled down and didn't allow a field goal the rest of the way while outscoring JSU 7-2.
"I loved our competitiveness tonight," Tulane head coach Ed Conroy said. "We were really battling out there against a very good Jacksonville State team. Tonight was our 12th game and it seems like we've had eight here in the last 10 days. We hit a little bit of a lull, and we needed a spark, we needed some energy. Some guy's heads were dropping a little bit and some guys came off the bench and really battled, and it was fun to watch."
Jordan Callahan led the way on the offensive end for Tulane with 15 points on his way to earning all-tournament honors. Ricky Tarrant added 10 points and also was named to the all-tournament team. Tre Drye added 10 points of the bench in 16 minutes of action.
Tarrant added seven of Tulane's 42 rebounds and Josh Davis pulled down a game-high 11 boards. JSU grabbed 31 rebounds led by Stephen Hall's six.
Tulane hit 39.6 percent of its shots from the floor, including four of 12 from 3-point range. The Green Wave also managed just 17 of 30 from the free throw line.
Williams finished the game for JSU with a game-high 21 points and earned a spot on the all-tournament team. Tarvin Gaines added 13 points for the Gamecocks.
The game saw 10 lead changes and four ties, all in the first half. Tulane took the lead for good with 1:16 left in the opening half on a jumper by Callahan that made the score 24-23. Drye added a lay-up less than a minute later to give the Green Wave a 26-23 halftime lead. Tulane did build as much as a 12-point lead midway through the second half, 37-25, after a free throw from Drye.
Tulane will take 10 days off for final exams before traveling to Syracuse, N.Y., to face the third-ranked Orange in the Carrier Dome on Dec. 22 at 6 p.m. CT.
GAME NOTES - Skip Prosser Tournament All-Tournament team:
o Quinton Doggett - Southern
o Derick Beltran - Southern
o Brian Williams - Jacksonville State
o Ricky Tarrant - Tulane
o Jordan Callahan - Tulane
- Jordan Callahan reached double figures in scoring for the seventh game this season and the 37th game of his career with his 15 points tonight.
- Josh Davis grabbed double figures in rebounds for the eighth time this season with his 11 boards tonight. He missed his eighth double double by two points.
- Ricky Tarrant scored in double figures for the eighth game this season with his 10 points tonight.
- Tre Drye scored a career-best 10 points tonight, his first double figure scoring total.
- Tulane's 11-1 start is the best since the 1991-92 team started 16-1.
