Tulsa Golden Hurricane Falls at Home to UTEP

Originally Published: Feb 20, 2010 5:29 PM CDT

Andrew Topps
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

TULSA, Oklahoma --UTEP completed the season sweep of Tulsa as the Miners defeat the Golden Hurricane 78-70. The loss marks the third-straight for Tulsa and second at the Reynolds Center in a week following a 23-game home win streak.

Ben Uzoh led TU with 22 points while Jerome Jordan added 19 points to go along with 13 rebounds.

Tulsa (19-8, 8-5) led twice early on, however UTEP (20-5, 11-1) was able to gain control quickly. The Miners used runs of 9-0 and 11-6 to take a 43-26 lead into halftime. TU shot just 25 percent in the first half.

The Golden Hurricane trailed by as much as 19 in the second half but was able to cut that margin to single-digits on the strength of a 12-6 run. Joe Richard’s jumper with 4:15 left brought Tulsa to within seven points; however the Golden Hurricane could not get any closer.

Randy Culpepper had a game-high 29 points for the Miners. UTEP beat Tulsa 73-59 Feb. 6 in El Paso.

Things do not get any easier for the Golden Hurricane. TU travels to Duke to face the No. 5 Blue Devils Feb. 25.