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Dec. 27, 2003

Final Stats

NEW ORLEANS, La. - Mississippi State University improved to 10-0 on the season with a 72-50 victory over Tulane University in the first game of the Nokia Sugar Bowl Men's Basketball Classic on Saturday afternoon at the New Orleans Arena.

Tulane drops to 5-4 on the season after shooting just 29.7 percent (19-of-64) from the floor. The Bulldogs shot 44.4 percent (28-of-63) from the field.

"You've got to give Mississippi State credit," Tulane coach Shawn Finney said. "They had us on our heels from the start. I've been here four years and they are one of the top two teams we have played since I have been here. They have a lot of weapons. They pressed us into turnovers and those steals led to a lot of points."

The Green Wave was led by sophomore Quincy Davis who scored 13 points to go with six rebounds and four blocked shots. Senior Wayne Tinsley added 10 points while senior George Brown added four points and a career-high 11 rebounds.

Things started rough for the Wave as Mississippi State opened the game with an alley-oop dunk from Timmy Bowers to Lawrence Roberts. After a Wave turnover, Bowers nailed a three-pointer, then a Wave miss was followed by a Winsome Frazier three and it was 8-0 just over one minute into the game.

Tulane cracked the scoring column at the 15:29 mark when freshman Vincent Camper scored on a drive to cut the Wave deficit to 11 points at 13-2.

The Wave pulled within seven at 25-18 on a follow-up dunk from Davis with 6:43 to go, but the Bulldog defense clamped down, holding the Wave scoreless for the remainder of the half.

In the second half, Mississippi State continued to roll, building the lead to as many as 33, before the Wave rallied with a pair of three-pointers from freshman Troy Aaron and a long three from Tinsley to account for the final margin of 72-50.

Mississippi State held a 45-44 advantage on the boards while the Green Wave had 18 turnovers and the Bulldogs had 10. Tulane hit 4-of-7 free throws while Mississippi State was 12-of-20 from the line.

Roberts, a transfer from Baylor, led the Bulldogs with 15 points, while Bowers had 14 points and Frzaier had 10. Ten different players scored for Mississippi State.

"We wanted to trap Roberts and force it outside," Finney said. "But Frazier and Bowers can shoot the three and when they're on, they're hard to stop."

Tulane returns to action on Wednesday afternoon, New Year's Eve, hosting Nicholls State at 2 p.m. Tickets are available by calling 504-861-WAVE or visiting the official Tulane website at www.TulaneGreenWave.com.