Southern Utah 73, ORU 58

CEDAR CITY, Utah (AP) _ David Palmer scored 19 points as Southern Utah beat Oral Roberts 73-58 in the teams Mid-Continent Conference opener Thursday night. <br><br>Southern Utah (6-7) opened up the second

Friday, January 10th 2003, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

CEDAR CITY, Utah (AP) _ David Palmer scored 19 points as Southern Utah beat Oral Roberts 73-58 in the teams Mid-Continent Conference opener Thursday night.

Southern Utah (6-7) opened up the second half with 10 straight points to take a 44-34 lead.

However, the Golden Eagles (9-5) pulled back to within 56-54 with 4:38 to play.

Palmer hit a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession and Southern Utah hit eight of nine free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.

Southern Utah led by as many as 13 points in the first half.

Tyrone Tiggs, a member of the preseason All-Mid-Con First Team, scored 16 points to lead Oral Roberts, but shot just 5-for-17 shots and was 1-9 from 3-point range.