Dec. 19, 2004

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2004-05 TULANE MEN'S BASKETBALL
Game 4 -- Tulane (3-4, 0-0) v. North Carolina A&T (1-9, 0-0) -- Dec. 21, 2004
Fogelman Arena -- 8 p.m. (CST)

GREEN WAVE FACTS
2004-05 Record: 3-4
2003-04 Record: 11-17
2003-04 C-USA Record: 4-12/12th
Head Coach: Shawn Finney
Alma Mater/Year: Fairmont State/1985
Record at Tulane/Year: 53-72/5th
Career Record/Years: Same
President: Dr. Scott Cowen
Athletics Director: Rick Dickson
Ticket Office Phone: 504-861-WAVE
Website: www.TulaneGreenWave.com

TULANE 2004-05 SCHEDULE & RESULTS

Official NC A&T Athletics Website

PROBABLE STARTERS
11 Marcus Kinzer (Sr., 13.3 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 4.9 apg)
26 points and 21 assists in last two games

4 Vincent Camper (So., 7.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 3.4 apg)
Season-best 13 points in Savannah State win

10 Taylor Rochestie (Fr., 9.0 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 2.6 apg)
Third double-figure scoring game with 10 v. NSU

50 Quincy Davis (Jr., 14.4 ppg, 6.3 rpg, .683 FG%)
17 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists v. Savannah

21 David Gomez (Fr., 3.9 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 0.4 bpg)
Started last three games, 27 rebounds in those games

TULANE RESERVES

5 Donnie Stith (Fr., 3.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 14.4 mpg)
7 points, 3 rebounds and a block on Saturday

3 Chris Moore (So., 4.1 ppg, 1.1 rpg, 6 threes)
Career-high 15 points (three 3's) against NSU

22 Kory Castine (So., 2.7 ppg, 3.1 rpg, .571 FG%)
4 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks against Savannah

40 Vytas Tatarunas (Jr., 1.9 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 12.1 mpg
Third on the team in rebounding, two starts this year

30 Ben Benfield (Sr., 3.1 ppg, 0.4 rpg, 9.7 mpg)
8 points and a steal against Northwestern State

44 Ivan Pjevcevic (Sr., 2.9 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 8.9 mpg)
Still battling to return from knee surgery

25 Matt Wheaton (Fr., 1.8 ppg, 1.3 rpg)
2 points and a steal in the Savannah State win

40 Robinson Louisme (Fr., 1.4 ppg, 1.2 rpg)
3 points, 3 rebounds on Saturday

NEWS & NOTES
On the Wave
Tulane returned from an 11-day break for final exams on Saturday and used a strong second half to defeat Savannah State, 74-55. The Green Wave controlled the boards in the second half, 31-12, and outscored the Tigers, 42-24, to cruise to the victory. Quincy Davis continued to scorch the nets, hitting 8-of-11 shots for 17 points while Marcus Kinzer had 14 points, six rebounds, eight assists and three steals with just two turnovers. On Tuesday evening, the Wave hosts North Carolina A&T in the second game of a Tulane basketball doubleheader (the Wave women open the evening at 6 p.m. against Portland).

On the Air
All Tulane men's basketball games can be heard live on the ISP Radio Network (WTIX AM 690 in New Orleans) with Sean Kelly handling play-by-play duties for his fourth season, while Steve Barrios is the color commentator.

The News on N.C. A&T
North Carolina A&T, a member of the MEAC, comes to Fogelman with a 1-9 record following a 71-49 loss to Nebraska on Saturday despite 18 points from Sean Booker. A 6-3 sophomore guard from Louisville, Booker is averaging 18.8 points per game and is the only Aggie in double figures. Senior guard Steven Koger is next with 8.8 points per game, while Booker also leads the team with 4.0 rebounds per outing. The Aggies lone win came against High Point at home, while eight of the losses have been in road games to the likes of Texas A&M, Louisville and New Mexico.

Numbers Game
Marcus Kinzer is settling into a groove running the point for the Green Wave. In the last two games, the senior has 26 points, 21 assists, seven rebounds, five steals and just five turnovers. For the season, Kinzer ranks eighth in Conference USA in field-goal percentage (.581), sixth in assists (4.86) and 10th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.89).

Quincy on Target
Junior Quincy Davis has been on fire from the field this season and currently leads Conference USA by connecting on 68.3 percent (43-of-63) of his shots. He has had games in which he hit 9-of-11 (Prairie View), 9-of-12 (Louisiana Tech) and 6-of-7 (Northwestern State) shots this year. After a 17-point, nine-rebound performance against Savannah State, the Los Angeles native, who played high school ball in Mobile, Ala., now has team-bests of 14.4 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. He has four dunks in each of the last two games.

Coming Up Next...
Tulane takes a short Christmas break before departing on the 25th for El Paso and the State Farm Sun Bowl Tournament. The Green Wave plays Princeton in the first round of the tourney on Dec. 27 while host UTEP battles Alabama State in the other first-round meeting. The consolation and championship games will be on Dec. 28th. Following the tournament, the Wave will host Virginia Military Institute on New Year's Eve at 2 p.m.

Glass-Cleaning Gomez
Since being inserted into the starting lineup three games ago, freshman David Gomez has been a rebounding machine for the Wave, tallying 27 boards, including a career-best 10 on Saturday against Savannah State.

Rebound that Basketball
Tulane is 3-1 when out-rebounding its opponents this year and 0-3 when being outdone on the glass. Most damaging has been the Wave's disadvantage in second-chance points in losses (61-37).

Exam Returns
The Green Wave had an 11-day break for final exams, its longest exam break since the 2000-01 season, Finney's first at the helm of the team. After Saturday's win over Savannah State, the Wave is 3-2 under Finney following the exam break.

Double Digit Assists
Marcus Kinzer matched the Tulane record by dishing out 13 assists in the loss to Northwestern State on Dec. 6. Kinzer's 13 matched the record which was set by Tom Hicks on Jan. 26, 1976 against The Citadel. The last time a Wave player had double figures in assists was Feb. 21, 2001 when Brandon Spann had 11 against Houston. Kinzer's previous career-high was eight against Morris Brown on Jan. 4, 2003.

On the Mark-us
Quincy Davis entered this season with a .537 career field-goal percentage, so it is not overly surprising that he leads Conference USA by hitting 68.3% of his shots this season. However, Marcus Kinzer, a guard who shoots from all over the court, is also among the best in the league, knocking down 58.1 percent (36-of-62) of his shots, including 8-of-19 from three-point range. The senior entered this season with at an even 40.0% from the field. Kinzer is second on the Wave in scoring with 13.3 points per game and leads the team with 34 assists. Last season, he was one of five players in Conference USA to average more than 10.0 points, 3.0 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game.

Quincy, M.D., the Doctor of Block
Green Wave junior Quincy Davis set a school record for single-season blocks by swatting 67 shots last season. He now has 89 for his career and still needs 103 more to reach the Green Wave's all-time leader, John "Hot Rod" Williams, who had 192 in his career. Davis currently ranks seventh all-time in blocks.

Seventy is Plenty
The Green Wave broke the 70-point barrier for the second straight game on Saturday against Savannah State. That victory lifted Shawn Finney's career record to 44-18 when Tulane scores 70 or more points. Over the last two years, the Wave is 12-2 when breaking 70 with one of the losses coming on Dec. 6 against Northwestern State. Overall under Finney, the Green Wave has won just nine games when not hitting the 70-point marker.

Demonic
Northwestern State came into its Dec. 6 game with the Green Wave struggling to shoot from outside, shooting at a 28-percent clip from three-point range and proceeded to drill 10-of-18 threes in its win over Tulane. Long range was not the only distance that was on for the Demons, NSU was also an impressive 29-of-34 from the free-throw line, including 27-of-29 in the second half.

Benfield's a Spark
Known for his long-range shooting, Ben Benfield was a major factor in the win over Loyola, despite not hitting a three-pointer and playing only eight minutes. The senior from nearby River Ridge, sparked a 12-1 run with two assists, a steal and a jumper early in the second half of the Green Wave victory.

Over 50%
Louisiana Tech connected on 31-of-61 shots (.508) in its victory over the Wave. That snapped a stretch of 32 straight games in which the Wave held opponents to 50 percent or lower from the field. The last time a foe hit more than half of its shots was on March 5, 2003 (a 72-60 loss to USF). In Finney's four-plus years, the Green Wave is 2-27 when opponents shoot over 50 percent from the field. On the flip side, the Wave is 26-7 when holding opponents below 40 percent shooting in that same period.

Return Man
Senior seven-footer Ivan Pjevcevic continues to work towards recovery from last year's knee surgery. His best effort of the year thus far came against UNO when he played 19 second-half minutes and registered nine points with five rebounds. In the last four games, Pjevcevic is averaging 9.0 minutes per game. The Belgrade product redshirted the 2003-04 season after injuring his knee eight minutes into the season-opener.

Second Half Defense Not Enough
After struggling in the second half of the first three games defensively, Tulane stepped up its "D" in the second half against UNO, holding the Privateers to just 32.1 percent (9-of-28), including 1-12 from three-point range. Entering the UNO games, the Green Wave had been allowing 34.4 percent (32-of-93) shooting in the first halves of its games and 49.5 percent (47-of-95) in the second halves. UNO shot 40.7 percent (11-of-27) in the first half of the game.

Kinzer's Dead-Eye Shooting Just Off
Point guard Marcus Kinzer may have missed the potential game-winning shot last Tuesday, but the ball was in the right player's hands. The senior had connected on six of his first seven shots in the game. He finished with 15 points against UNO.

Shooters' Touch
Tulane came out red-hot against Prairie View, connecting on 12 of its first 15 field-goal attempts, and finished shooting 60.0 percent (33-of-55) from the field. That was the highest field-goal percentage for the Green Wave in a game since Dec. 1, 2002 when it nailed 34-of-53 shots in a win over Southeast Missouri State.

Filling the Box Score
When David Gomez connected on a free throw late in the Prairie View game, he became the 13th Green Wave player to score in the game. The last time Tulane had 13 players score in one game was Jan. 25, 1992 when 13 cracked the scoring column in a 99-75 victory over Temple University.

Finney vs. Louisiana
Shawn Finney and the Green Wave met five Louisiana schools in 2004-05. Last season, Tulane faced off against seven state foes. In his five years at the helm of the Wave, Finney has recorded a 13-10 mark against in-state opponents.

Home Openers
Tulane has not lost a home opener under Shawn Finney and overall, the Green Wave has a 15-year winning streak in home openers. Since World War II, the Green Wave is 51-5 in its first home games while all-time, the Wave is 77-16 in home openers (one year not available and one year all games played on the road).

Ch-ch-ch-Changes
Tulane is one of the six members of Conference USA that will remain with the league next season when the latest round of conference-hopping continues. The league will bid farewell to basketball members Charlotte, Cincinnati, DePaul, Louisville, Marquette, Saint Louis, South Florida and TCU while adding newcomers Marshall, Rice, SMU, Tulsa, UCF and UTEP. Next season, Conference USA will consist of 12 schools competing in all sports.

Tough Schedule, Version 03-04
Tulane faced nine 20-win squads (Mississippi State, Louisville, Southeastern La., Memphis, DePaul, Cincinnati, UAB, Rice, Charlotte) and five teams who were ranked at some point during the year in 2003-04. Thirteen of the Green Wave's games were against teams which qualified for postseason play.

Tough Schedule, Version 04-05
After last year's grueling schedule, things don't look any easier for the Wave in 2004-05. Thirteen of the Green Wave's potential opponents (including tournaments) on this year's schedule advanced to the postseason last year. Ten reached the NCAA Tournament (UL-Lafayette, Princeton, Alabama State, UTEP, DePaul, UAB, Louisville, Memphis, Charlotte, Cincinnati) and three advanced to the NIT (LSU, Saint Louis, Marquette).

Weighing In
Tulane has a bulky front line which Green Wave football coach Chris Scelfo may be eyeing for some action on the gridiron. The Green Wave's heaviest five players (Kory Castine, Quincy Davis, Robinson Louisme, pounds, an average of 252.6 per player. That is the heaviest five on any Conference USA team; next closest is Memphis, which has five players who average 251.8 pounds. The Wave's average height of those five players (6-8 1/2) is the fourth-tallest in the league; Marquette has the tallest five (6-9 3/4).

Veteran Coach
Shawn Finney is entering his fifth season as the head coach of the Green Wave, which pushes him into a tie for the fourth-longest tenured coach in Conference USA. Cincinnati's Bob Huggins is the dean of C-USA coaches as he is entering his 16th year with the Bearcats. Bobby Lutz is preparing for his seventh year with the Charlotte 49ers and Marquette's Tom Crean is in his sixth year in Milwaukee. Finney is tied with Memphis' John Calipari. Bill Herrion is entering his sixth year guiding East Carolina, but the Pirates have only been in Conference USA for two years.

Lucky Number 13
For the first time in Coach Shawn Finney's tenure, he will have 13 scholarship players to open the season. With the addition of five freshmen this year, Tulane will field a roster which features three seniors, two juniors, three sophomores and five freshmen. Last season, the Wave opened the year with 12 scholarship players and quickly went down to 11 with Pjevcevic's injury.

The Future
Tulane signed two players during the early signing period. The Green Wave has added 6-2 point guard Ryan Williams of Jonesboro, Ark., and 6-7 forward Daniel Puckett from McEwen, Tenn. Puckett averaged 21 points, 8.7 rebounds and three assists per game and was an all-state selection and the district player of the year while leading his young team to a 21-10 record and second place in the district. Williams averaged 23.4 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals. He is a two-time all-state selection and also collected all-conference honors in each of his two years.

Global Games
Vytas Tatarunas picked up some international experience this summer, representing Lithuania at the Global Games which were held in Texas. The 6-6, 250-pounder averaged 15.0 points per game in the tournament. He scored 19 points in a victory over the United States and tallied his best performance with 24 points against Argentina in a losing effort in the silver medal game.

Tulane Globetrotter
Freshman Taylor Rochestie had a challenging introduction to post-high school basketball this summer when he went on a eight-day tour of Chili with other college basketball players from around the United States. The team played six games against teams from Chili and Argentia.

Mirror, Mirror
Once again the Green Wave will play three "mirror" games in 2004-05. Every team in Conference USA plays every other team once, with each team having three teams which it plays twice in order to total 16 league games. Tulane's three mirror opponents will again be TCU, UAB and Southern Miss. The Wave was 2-4 against its mirror opponents last year.

Linton Johnson in the "League"
Former Tulane standout Linton Johnson earned a spot on the Chicago Bulls roster last year in training camp and proceeded to average 17.9 minutes per game while starting 20 games. His performance in Chicago drew attention from around the league, and he signed a free agent deal with the San Antonio Spurs in the offseason and will suit up next to the likes of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Emanuel Ginobli this season.

Graduation Continues
The Green Wave had three players graduate in May as Brandon Brown, Marc Siegel and Wayne Tinsley each earned their Tulane degrees. Of the 11 seniors who have played for Finney, only George Brown has not graduated; he remains in school and is on track to earn his degree in May of 2005.

TulaneGreenWave.com
Comprehensive coverage of Tulane Basketball, including game notes, PDFs of key documents (including these notes), updated statistics, links to newspaper articles and to Tulane game broadcasts, are available on the official athletics site of Green Wave Athletics, www.TulaneGreenWave.com.