Golden Hurricane Hold Off Green Wave

Tulsa broke away from Tulane in the second half, refusing to relinquish the lead.

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 12:14 pm

By: News On 6

Originally Published: Feb 26, 2011 10:10 PM CDT

Oklahoma Sports Staff and Wire Reports

TULSA, Oklahoma -- The Tulsa Golden Hurricane improved to 9-5 in conference play Saturday night, beating the Tulane Green Wave 66-59.

Led by Justin Hurtt’s 24 points and Steven Idlet’s 16 points, Tulsa (16-12, 9-5) edged past Tulane in the second half, after juggling the lead with the Green Wave throughout the first 20 minutes.

Despite leading the entire second half, the Golden Hurricane committed four turnovers with less than four minutes left in the game, opening the door for the Green Wave to make a move and tie up the game.

Joe Richard sand one of his two free throws to bring the score to 64-59, pushing his team ahead just out of reach. With just two Conference USA games left, Tulsa looks to pull ahead of UTEP, Memphis and Southern Mississippi, which are tied with the Golden Hurricane in conference play. UAB leads the conference with a 10-4 record.

Tulane (12-15, 2-12) was led by Kendall Timmons, who finished with 27 points. Jordan Callahan pegged 15 points on the Green Wave’s final score, while Johnny Mayhane had a 13-point game.

Scottie Haralson, Tulsa’s third-leading scorer, broke his scoring slump with a 3-pointer in early in the second half, his first basket in three games. Jordan Clark, who averages almost 11 points for the Golden Hurricane, sat out of Saturday’s game reportedly due to a concussion.

The Tulsa Golden Hurricane next travel to Rice Wednesday, to face the Owls at 7 p.m.