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Dec. 27, 2005

Final Stats

NEW ORLEANS, La. - The return was triumphant. The Tulane men's basketball team, which had spent the fall semester in Texas due to Hurricane Katrina, played its first New Orleans basketball game, defeating Richmond, 64-41, on Tuesday evening at Fogelman Arena.

Tulane (3-6) was led by senior center Quincy Davis' 20 points, while sophomore Matt Wheaton added a career-high 13 points. Richmond (5-6) had entered the game leading the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 50.9 points per game. The Wave is the first team this season to score 60 points against the Spiders, who have played the likes of Louisville and Wake Forest.

Following the game, Tulane first-year head coach Dave Dickerson, who was making his debut in New Orleans, took the public address microphone and thanked the fans, stressing that "we are all in this together, rebuilding this city and saving this university."

The game was played before a raucous crowd of 1,682 fans, raising the noise level in Fogelman to levels not seen in years, even drowning out the referee's whistles at one point.

"This is just what we needed," Dickerson said. "We needed to be home in the friendly confines of our arena, in our city and at our school. From our first practice in Fogelman, I could tell that we had a spring in our step."

Holding a 21-16 lead with 5:35 to go in the first half, freshman Daniel Puckett (five points) and Wheaton (four points) keyed a 13-0 run to close the half with a 34-16 advantage.

The second half saw more impressive defense as Tulane held Richmond to just five points in the first 11:41 of the stanza. Meanwhile, Davis keyed the Green Wave attack with eight points in that same time, building the Tulane lead to 48-21 with 12:41 to go. On all four of his baskets, which included a pair of dunks, its was freshman Ryan Williams who assisted on the easy hoops.

"One guy I am impressed with, who came back and played well is Quincy Davis," Dickerson said. "And we need him to play well. Our players look for him. For him to have 20 points and shoot 8-of-13 is a good start."

Overall, from the 5:35 mark of the first half to the 8:20 mark of the second half, 17 minutes and 15 seconds, Tulane held Richmond to just five points. The Wave 27 points in that same period. "Against this type of team, you have to be aggressive," Dickerson said. "We were aggressive offensively, we drove the basketball and got some easy points."

Richmond rallied with three-pointers, but it was not nearly enough. The Spiders hit four three-pointers in the final eight minutes, but could not get closer than 20.

"This is only one game," Dickerson said. "But it's a special game for our school and our players."

Next up for the Green Wave is another New Orleans contest, this one at the Alario Center on the West Bank against the University of New Orleans on New Year's Eve at 1 p.m.