Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 8, 1991 TAG: 9103080134
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Tiger guard Elliot Perry provided the late-game offense, and he and his teammates held Tulane without a field goal for a 12-minute stretch in the second half Thursday as the fifth-seeded Tigers beat the fourth-seeded Green Wave 84-77 in a first-round tournament game at the Roanoke Civic Center before 6,245 fans.
The only other time there were two upsets in a Metro tournament first round was 1986 at Freedom Hall in Louisville, when Florida State beat Virginia Tech and Cincinnati beat Southern Miss.
Memphis' win set up the 68th - and possibly last - meeting between the Tigers and Louisville, who beat Southern Miss in another first-round game Thursday. Memphis State is joining the Great Midwest Conference next year and Louisville isn't keen on continuing the series.
The 7:08 p.m. game may bring hundreds more Louisville and Memphis State fans to Roanoke, a prospect that thrills tournament and Roanoke city officials.
Perry, the league's leading scorer, was shut out in the first half and didn't score from the field until 13:30 remained in the game. But down the stretch he was far from invisible.
"Coach [Larry Finch] got us in a 1-4 [offense], we opened the floor up and let me create," Perry said. "Some good things happened."
For example, seven (of eight) free throws made by Perry and a pass to Tim Duncan for a dunk and a 72-66 Memphis lead with 4:09 left.
The killing shot, however, may have been John McLaughlin's left-corner 3-pointer out of Memphis' waste-time offense. The wide-open shot gave the Tigers (16-12) a 76-69 lead with 1:32 left.
"At that point in the ballgame, you don't want to not look to score," McLaughlin said.
Finch did not second-guess his sixth man.
"I prefer him looking at the basket first," Finch said.
Tulane (15-13), a 1 1/2-point favorite, looked at the basket a lot but couldn't put the ball in. The Green Wave, leading 46-44 at halftime, shot 29 percent from the field in the second half. Anthony Reed and David Whitmore, averaging a combined 27 points per game, were a combined 2-for-14 from the field.
"We were overaggressive," Reed said. "And Memphis was taking away our basket cuts."
Meanwhile, Memphis was getting production from everyone except Perry. Ben Spiva had 12 points in 12 minutes, and Tim Duncan, inserted when Kelvin Allen fouled out, had five points in eight minutes.
"Our pressure never really affected Memphis State, and we couldn't really take them out of anything," said Tulane coach Perry Clark, whose team may be in the National Invitation Tournament. "I never felt comfortable defensively the whole game."
Memphis State's 7-foot sophomore center, Todd Mundt, got comfy in the second half. He was scoreless in the first half, but had six points, six rebounds and four blocks in the last 20 minutes.
"When he decides he wants to play, he can be a pretty good basketball player," Finch said. see microfilm for box score
by CNB