Golden Hurricane Defeat The Owls

HOUSTON (AP) Ben Uzoh scored 14 points and Tulsa survived not hitting a field goal in the final seven minutes to beat Rice 73-65 on Saturday.<br/><br/>Brett McDade added 13 for Tulsa (19-10, 9-7), which

Saturday, March 3rd 2007, 5:30 pm

By: News On 6

HOUSTON (AP) Ben Uzoh scored 14 points and Tulsa survived not hitting a field goal in the final seven minutes to beat Rice 73-65 on Saturday.

Brett McDade added 13 for Tulsa (19-10, 9-7), which had a 23-point lead whittled to 66-63 with 37 seconds left on Rodney Foster's 3-pointer.

But despite not making a field goal in the final 7:17, Tulsa made 7 of 8 free throws after Foster's basket to preserve its third straight victory.

Morris Almond scored 29 points for Rice (14-15, 8-8) and moved into 4th-place on the Owls' all-time leading scorer list. The senior needs 33 points to break Ricky Pierce's single-season scoring record set in 1982.

The game was the last to be played at the 57-year-old Autry Court before a $23 million, 18-month renovation begins this summer.

Tulsa and Rice now advance to the Conference USA tournament which begins Wednesday in Memphis, Tenn.