Tulsa Men Pick Up Big Road Win At Marshall

James Woodard scored 17 points and Rashad Ray tallied 13 points to fuel a second-half run and lead Tulsa to a 69-52 Conference USA victory at Marshall Saturday afternoon at the Cam Henderson Center.

Brandon Swannegan added a career-high 10 points for the Golden Hurricane (8-10, 3-1 C-USA), which picked up its first road win of the season. Woodard scored 13 and Ray 11 points in the second half, sparking the Hurricane as it outscored the Thundering Herd 49-27 in the second period.

After scoring 20 points in the first half and shooting just 25 percent from the field, Tulsa shot 62 percent from the field, making 5-of-7 3-pointers and 12-of-14 free throws in the second half.

Chris Thomas scored 14 points, and Kareem Canty scored 12 points to lead the Thundering Herd (6-13, 0-4 C-USA).

Tulsa trailed by as many as eight points in the second half, and was behind 40-36 with 12:09 remaining, when Swannegan hit a layup and Woodard made a beautiful reverse layup high off the glass to knot the score, 40-40 with 11:25 to play.

Marshall retook the lead at 45-42, but a pair of free throws followed by a 3-pointer from Woodard and a three by Swilling put the Hurricane ahead for good. Tulsa led 50-45 with 9:27 left, and outscored the Herd 19-7 for the remainder of the game as it pulled away for the 17-point victory.

Tulsa got 32 points from its bench, as Ray and Swannegan combined for 23 points in relief. The Hurricane made 14-of-18 free throws for the game – its fifth straight contest making more than 70 percent of its foul shots. The teams matched rebound totals with 39 apiece, and TU tallied 11 assists and 11 turnovers. Marshall shot 33 percent from the field for the contest.

Both teams got off to a slow offensive start at the outset of the game. Marshall led 9-5 by the second media timeout with 11:50 to play in the first half. The Herd led by as much as 17-8 with 7:35 left, but Tulsa climbed back with a 9-3 run, pulling within 20-17.

Marshall led by eight, 25-17, after a 3-pointer by Shawn Smith. The Golden Hurricane got a three from Woodard to make the score 25-20 with 1:18 remaining in the half, and the score stood until the break.

Woodard hit a jumper to begin the second half, and the teams traded baskets until Marshall took a 34-26 lead with 15:41 on the clock. Rashad Ray knocked down a 3-pointer to spark a 10-2 Tulsa run capped by a Swilling three that tied the score at 36-36 with 12:33 remaining.

The Golden Hurricane opens a three-game homestand Thursday against Middle Tennessee. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:05 p.m. at the Donald W. Reynolds Center, and the game will be televised by Fox Sports 1.