Feb. 24, 2007

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NEW ORLEANS - Andrew Garcia scored 23 points and David Gomez added 20 points and 10 rebounds to lead Tulane to a 77-72 Conference USA victory over Southern Miss here Saturday afternoon at Fogelman Arena.

The Golden Eagles (17-10 overall, 7-7 C-USA) lost their second straight game in their final regular-season road contest of the year.

Freshman Jeremy Wise led the Golden Eagles with a game-high 25 points to collect his 18th straight game of scoring in double figures as well as notching his ninth 20-plus point performance of the campaign.

Sophomore Courtney Beasley added 12 for Southern Miss.

The lead changed hands eight time in the opening half and the Golden Eagles led 32-28 after Jarvis Hill converted two free throws with 5:06 to play, before Tulane recorded six of the next seven points and then tallied final five points over the final 1:12 of the first period - with Gomez and Garcia hitting buckets in the final minute - to give the Green Wave (14-12, 7-7) a 42-35 advantage at the break.

Southern Miss battled back in the second half, outscoring the home team 16-10 over the first eight-plus minutes, to cut the gap to one at 52-51 with 11:42 to play. That was as close as the Golden Eagles got down the stretch as Tulane scored the next six points to push advantage to seven at 58-51 with 9:29 left.

Wise, who scored 16 of his points in the second half, helped the Golden Eagles draw within three points on three occasions in the final 1:23, but again it was Garcia and Gomez who came up big as each tallied a pair of free throws in the final 15 seconds to help seal the win.

Southern Miss won the battle of the boards in the affair, outrebounding the Green Wave 42-37. Sai'Quon Stone tallied a season-high 12 to pace the Golden Eagles.

The Golden Eagles return home, Wednesday, when they entertain UAB in an 8 p.m., contest. The game will be televised regionally on CSS (Comcast Channel 25 in the Hattiesburg area).