Tulane Men Pushed to OT Before Falling to Memphis, 96-95
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In the most electric atmospheres seen in Fogelman this season, the Tulane men’s basketball team took Memphis to overtime before falling in a high scoring affair, 96-95. Before over 17-hundred fans who were rocking the Uptown arena, the Wave came up just short.
The Green Wave erased a nine-point deficit in the final 2:27 of regulation to force overtime but ultimately suffered a heartbreaker on a pair of Memphis free throws in the final seconds of the extra period on a questionable foul on the Wave with 2.3-seconds remaining. With the loss Tulane finished the regular season as the nine seed in the American Conference and will face the Tigers for a third time this season in the conference tournament on Wednesday, March 11.
Tulane lead for almost three-fourths of the game with the Wave making up the rebounding differential owned by Memphis, 41-32, by playing the part of bandits, stealing the rock away from the Tigers 12 times in the game.
Second Half Turnaround for the Tigers
After an impressive offensive showing in the first half, Tulane cooled a bit in half number two. The Green Wave shot 50% from the field in the first twenty minutes, dropping to 44% in second period. Memphis did a 180, hitting just shy of 38% in the first half, then going 20-33 in the 2nd for a red hot 61%.
Regulation ended at 81-all, so an extra five minutes were tacked on to the Fogelman scoreboards and the two went at it again. Though the Wave shot an exceptional 67% during that one-eighth of a game, the difference was the free throw line. Memphis hit 9-of-the-10 charity stripers, while Tulane only went to the line twice in overtime.
A Questionable Call Near Overtime's End
How questionable was that foul called KJ Greene that sent Quante Berry to the line? Without question, that play was the most important in the contest, the foul and subsequent made free throws by Berry weren't included in the highlights as shown by the American Conference on YouTube. Even Tulane coach Ron Hunter said little about the call, though you could tell he was disturbed the game was taken out of the hands of the players on the court.
"I told the guys (in the locker room) after the game, that this (contest) represented our whole year, as to things not being fair," a teary-eyed Ron Hunter said to the media. "I'm proud of these kids. I'm not going to even talk about the call. If you look at it, you can make your own (decision) on that."
When mentioning how things aren't fair, the Tulane head coach was referring to how things went South before the season ever started with the death of star Gregg Glenn III.
"They were dealt a blow, we were all dealt a blow (by the death of Glenn)," Hunter said, his voice cracking under the emotion of the moment, "that most people couldn't get through. You guys (the media) heard me say, (this was) the hardest year of my life. I (feel like) I lost a son. They (the players) lost a brother. We lost a hell of a player. I thought these guys did the best they could this year."
Senior Day at Fogelman
Glenn was posthumously recognized on Senior Day in Fogelman Arena, along with three other seniors: Asher Woods, Percy Daniels, and Davion Bradford.
"Forty years of coaching, and I will always remember these guys, for the fight that they gave. I want to thank them, but make no mistake: we miss Gregg Glenn," Hunter said as he teared up again.
Tulane will have its chance at revenge against Memphis in their first round game, slated for Wednesday in Birmingham at the American Conference post-season tourney. Game time is slated for 6:00 p.m. CDT and will be broadcast on ESPNEWS and 106.7 The Ticket.
Portions Courtesy Tulane Athletics
Doug has covered a gamut of sporting events in his fifty-plus years in the field. He started doing sideline reporting for Louisiana Tech football games for the student radio station. Doug was Sports Director for KNOE-AM/FM in Monroe in the mid-80s, winning numerous awards from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association for Best Sportscast and Best Play-by-Play. High school play-by-play for teams in Monroe, Natchitoches, New Orleans, and Thibodaux, LA dot his resume. He did college play-by-play for Northwestern State University in Natchitoches for nine years. Then, moving to the Crescent City, Doug did television PBP of Tulane games and even filled in for legendary Tulane broadcaster, Ken Berthelot in the only game Kenny ever missed while doing the Green Wave games. His father was an alumnus of Tulane in the 1940s, so Doug has attended Tulane football games in old Tulane Stadium, the Superdome, and Yulman. He was one of the 86,000 plus on December 1, 1973, sitting in the North End Zone to seeTulane shutout the LSU Tigers, 14-0. He was there when the Posse ruled Fogelman and in Turchin when the Wave made it to the World Series. He currently is the public address voice of the Tulane baseball team.