Tulsa
San Jose State (WAC Tourn.)
Tulsa Downs San Jose State, 64-53
3/8/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 8, 2001
By OWEN CANFIELD
AP Sports Writer
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - Kevin Johnson and David Shelton led a second-half surge that put Tulsa in control as the Golden Hurricane beat San Jose State 64-53 in the quarterfinals of the Western Athletic Conference tournament Thursday.
Tulsa (20-10) held San Jose State (14-14) to three baskets in the first 11 minutes of the second half, allowing the Hurricane to take a 20-point lead.
Tulsa didn't make a field goal in the final 8:45 but stayed in front by sinking 11 of 14 free throws.
The victory sends the second-seeded Hurricane into Friday's semifinals against Texas-El Paso, which beat SMU, 74-70.
Johnson and Marcus Hill scored 18 for Tulsa. Shelton had 12, eight of them in the second half, and Greg Harrington scored 10.
Shelton and Harrington started the second half with consecutive 3-pointers to give Tulsa a 12-point lead. After a basket by Billy Landram got the Spartans within 10, Tulsa went on an 15-5 run with Johnson scoring five and Shelton adding another 3.
Tulsa's last field goal came on a shot inside by Shelton with 8:47 left. San Jose State used a 10-0 run to get within 56-47 with 3:53 to play, and the Spartans eventually pulled within 58-51 but got no closer.
Darnell Williams scored 14 and Cory Powell had 10 for San Jose State.
Hill made three 3-pointers and scored on a layup to provide all the points during a two-minute run that gave the Hurricane a 24-18 lead.
A three-point play by Johnson, who had three of them in the first half, pushed the margin to 27-20. He added a shot inside and Dante Swanson hit a free throw to give the Hurricane its biggest first-half lead, 30-22.
