Big Plays Late Lift Green Wave over Georgia Tech
Dec 3, 2011 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 3, 2011
NEW ORLEANS - A steal and lay-up by Kendall Timmons with 0:41 left gave the Tulane men's basketball team the lead over Georgia Tech and a pair of free throws by both Ricky Tarrant and Josh Davis secured the 57-52 victory in front on 3,170 fans on Saturday afternoon in Fogelman Arena.
The near capacity crowd witnessed the Green Wave improve to 9-0 for the first time since the 1991-92 season and the first victory over an Atlantic Coast Conference member since 2003.
"This was a lot of fun and a great crowd," Tulane head coach Ed Conroy said. `Thank you to our fans. It was a great atmosphere and hopefully a sign of many more games like this."
Timmons, who finished the game with nine points, six rebounds, four blocks and two steals, was able to get the ball away from Georgia Tech's (4-4) Mfon Udofia as he crossed halfcourt and Timmons scored on a uncontested lay-up to give the Green Wave a 53-52 lead. Davis blocked Udofia's shot on the ensuing possession and Tarrant grabbed the rebound and was fouled.
Tarrant knocked down both free throws with 0:25 remaining. The Yellow Jackets' Jason Morris missed a 3-pointer on the next possession and Davis skied for the board and was fouled. Davis hit both free throws with 0:12 left to ice the victory.
The rebound and free throw by Davis gave him his seventh double double of the season with 11 points and 10 boards. He also dished out four steals and had two blocks.
Tarrant led all scorers in the game with 24, including 20 in the first half on six 3-pointers. The freshman singlehanded gave Tulane the lead in the first half by hitting five consecutive long range shots to vault the Green Wave from trailing by three, 21-18, to leading by nine, 33-24, over a four minute span. Tulane held a 33-26 lead at the break.
Georgia Tech scored the first four points of the second half to cut the deficit to three, 33-30, but Tulane mounted an 11-4 run to take their largest lead of the game, 44-34, with 15:50 remaining. At that point, the Green Wave managed only a pair of free throws from Tarrant over the next 10 minutes and the Yellow Jackets tied the score, 46-46, on a lay-up by Brandon Reed with 5:43 left.
"We did a great job coming out of the gates as we have all year," Conroy said. "Then we hit a little lull and I had to call a couple timeouts, but we settled down. We know we can be a lot better and we know we have a long way to go. We have some very competitive kids and that showed in the first half."
Tomas Bruha snapped Tulane's skid with a jumper to give them the lead again. The score was tied two more times and the lead changed hand twice in the final five minutes.
Georgia Tech was led by Glen Rice, Jr., with 11 points and 11 rebounds, while Morris added 12 points off the bench. Udofia finished with nine points and six rebounds.
Tulane won despite shooting just 30.8 percent from the floor, including hitting just five of 25 shots in the second half. The Green Wave did hit eight of 16 3-pointers and connected on a season-best 81.0 percent, 17-21, from the free throw line.
Tech knocked down 35.0 percent from the floor and was five of nine from the line.
The Green wave take the perfect record on the road for just the second time this season when they visit Wofford on Tuesday for a 6 p.m. CT tip in Spartanburg, S.C.
GAME NOTES
- Ricky Tarrant scored in double figures for the fifth time this season with his 24 points in today's game. He had 20 in the first half alone on six 3-pointers.
- Jordan Callahan's first and only 3-pointer of the game, early in the second half, moved him into 10th-place on Tulane's career 3-pointer list. He now has 99 3-pointers in his career.
- Josh Davis collected his seventh double double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
