Tulsa Closes Exhibition Play With Easy Win

Tulsa built a 20-point first half lead and closed its exhibition season with a 93-59 win over the Catawba Indians Saturday.

The Golden Hurricane was all over the Indians from the opening possession, turning two turnovers and poor defensive rebounding into an eight-point lead less than three minutes into the game. Four minutes, Tulsa had expanded the lead to 22-11, capped off by five consecutive from Steven Idlet.

Catawba capitalized on TU fouls and responded with 10-3 run, four of which came on free throws, closing the deficit to 25-21 halfway through the quarter.

TU slowly expanded its lead over the next 10 minutes, scoring 10 of its 25 points in the final 10 minutes of the first half from the charity stripe, and lead 51-30 heading into the locker room.

Dominating the opening moments of the second half, Tulsa rattled off 10 quick points – six coming from behind the arc by Scottie Haralson to take a 31-point lead just 90 seconds in to the half and cruised from there.

Sophomore center Kodi Maduka led all scorers with 15 points, while grabbing five rebounds and dishing out four assists in the win. Jordan Clarkson tried to keep pace, scoring 14 points, coming down with four boards and two assists, while Idlet flirted with a double-double, finishing with 10 points and eight rebounds.

Keon Moore led the Indians, scoring 13 points and grabbing five rebounds, but gave the ball away four times. No other Catawba player scored in double figures, Willie Gilmore finished with nine and Lee Martin scored seven.

Tulsa will now take six days off before officially opening the regular season with a Friday night home matchup against Arkansas-Little Rock.