Thundering Herd too much for Wave

The Tulane Green Wave’s men’s basketball team returned to Fogelman Arena Saturday night looking to upset Conference USA contender Marshall, and in doing so, salvage something from a disappointing season marred by lackluster performances and injuries. Just three days prior, the Wave had played their most competitive game against perennial C-USA powerhouse Memphis in recent memory, showing the promise that had many analysts predicting improvement over last season’s 14-17 record. While Tulane turned in another inspired performance, the fourth-place Thundering Herd were able to edge out the Wave.

The extremely competitive contest saw 12 lead changes and 12 ties, including nine of each in the second half. This left the Green Wave little room for error and placed a premium on foul shooting. While Marshall only shot a disappointing .500 percent from the line, Tulane was unable to capitalize.

“Probably the biggest stat in the game was our inability to make free throws at home,” Tulane Coach Davie Dickerson said. “We were 15 of 29 and at one point this season we were the best free throw shooting team in conference USA.”

Marshall’s advantage in the low-post was also one of the most important factors in the game. Forward Tyler Wilkerson led the Herd with 18 points on an efficient 7 of 11 shooting performance from the field. Hassan Whiteside, a seven-foot center, was a force defensively, reordering seven blocks.

“Marshall was just able to make more plays down the stretch then us,” Dickerson said. “Their talent really took over deep in the second half. [Tyler] Wilkerson and [Hassan] Whiteside’s height, length and talent just offset what I thought was a good effort from my team.”

Despite this, Tulane remained competitive until the very end of the game. Senior point guard Kevin Sims had a chance to send the game into overtime as time expired, but his three-point effort was off-target. Sims scored his 13,000-career point early in the game, becoming only the 16th member of the Green Wave to reach that milestone.

The star of the game for the Wave, however, was forward Dave Booker, who has been one of Tulane’s most consistent players this season. Though undersized compared to Wilkerson and Whiteside, Booker managed to record 18 points and nine rebounds. Kendall Timmons, who recorded a career-high 23 points against Memphis, had another solid performance, recording 10 points and six rebounds.

Dickerson attributed the loss to a defensive letdown in the second half.

Tulane swingman Kendall Timmons (22) has recently become one of Tulane’s most explosive players.

“In the first half, our defense was outstanding,” Dickerson said. “To hold a team that is averaging 80 points to 27 percent from the field was outstanding. But, as good as our defense was in the first [half], that is how bad it was in the second half because they shot 63 percent from the field.”

Tulane will look to finally breakthrough against the top of the C-USA ranks as they will take on Alabama-Birmingham at 2p.m. this Saturday in Birmingham.