March 3, 2004

Box Score

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Tulane flustered Southern Miss with zone defense for much of its men's basketball game on Wednesday evening, but when it counted an open three-pointer proved to be the backbreaker as the Green Wave lost to the Golden Eagles, 70-60, in Conference USA men's basketball action at Reed Green Coliseum.

Tulane (11-15, 4-11 C-USA) still qualifies for next week's Conference USA Tournament due to Houston's loss to Charlotte this evening. The seedings for the tourney will be determined following Saturday, the final day of the regular season.

The Green Wave trailed by one at 59-58 after Wayne Tinsley hit one-of-two free throws at the 2:24 mark. The Wave zone forced a missed jumper by Southern Miss, but Jasper Johnson snagged the offensive board and was fouled. The sophomore hit both free throws with 1:52 to go. Then after a Green Wave miss by Quincy Davis, Johnson came back the other way and nailed the key three-pointer which made it 64-58 with 1:04 to go.

"You have to make plays," Tulane coach Shawn Finney said. "We had our chances down the stretch. We were where we wanted to be on the road, tie game with four minutes to go. But you have to make plays. We didn't do it and they did."

Southern Miss (13-13, 6-9) scored its final six points from the line while forcing five misses by the Green Wave in the final minute.

Tulane trailed by three at 53-50 with 7:41 to go, but a pair of free throws from Vincent Camper, one from Tinsley and a Kinzer jumper put the Wave on top, 55-53 with 5:45 remaining. However, after that shot, the Wave missed eight straight shots.

After the Kinzer jumper, Southern Miss struggled to hit as well, but the Golden Eagles used a flurry on the offensive glass. Despite missing three straight shots, they snared the offensive rebound each time and Jarekus Singleton dropped home a jumper in the lane to knot the game with 4:49 on the clock.

A missed jumper in the lane by Camper led to a jumper from Johnson, who was a thorn in the Wave's side all night. Tulane tied it up again on a pair of free throws from Davis at 4:08, but over the final four minutes, Southern Miss held a 13-3 advantage.

Tulane shot 46.9 percent (23-of-49) from the field for the game while holding Southern Miss to 41.4 percent (24-of-58). The Green Wave was out-rebounded 37-33 while Southern Miss had 16 offensive rebounds. The Wave also committed 17 turnovers while forcing just nine miscues.

Tulane will close the 2003-04 regular season on Saturday afternoon, playing at Charlotte at 2 p.m. (Central). The will be broadcast on the stations of the Tulane-ISP Radio Network (WTIX 690AM in New Orleans).