No. 5 Duke Too Tough for Tulsa

Originally Published: Feb 25, 2010 8:14 PM CDT

Andrew Topps
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

DURHAM, North Carolina -- Tulsa hung around with No. 5 Duke in the first half, but the Blue Devils proved to be too much in the end downing the Golden Hurricane 70-52. The loss marks TU's fourth straight.

Jerome Jordan had 12 points for Tulsa, while Justin Hurtt added 11.

Tulsa (19-9, 8-5) scored the first four points of the second half to tie the contest at 34. But then the Blue Devils (23-4, 11-2) showed why they are the fifth-ranked team in the nation by going on an 11-0 run.

Hurricane head coach Doug Wojcik received a technical foul for teasing a referee after a no-call on a tough Ben Uzoh shot in the lane.

The Golden Hurricane never got back within single digits as Duke stretched its lead to 20 points.

Tulsa proved to be difficult to dispose of in the first half. Duke was able to gain a 17-7 advantage at the 12:51 mark but TU was able to close the gap. Bryson Pope’s jumper tied the game at 28 with 3:10 remaining in the first half.

Tulsa had several chances to pull ahead but could not convert. The Blue Devils closed out the last 96 seconds by going 4-for-4 at the free-throw line to take a 34-30 lead into halftime.

Nolan Smith had 18 points and Brian Zoubek finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds for Duke. The Blue Devils committed just five turnovers the entire game.

Tulsa will travel to Greenville, North Carolina to face ECU Saturday at 6:00 p.m.