Tulsa
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UTEP
Tulsa Routs UTEP, 73-50
2/16/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 16, 2008
Box Score
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TULSA, Okla. (AP) - Brett McDade scored a career-high 26 points to rally Tulsa from an early 12-point deficit Saturday night in a 73-50 rout of UTEP.
McDade connected on seven of his 11 shots and went 5-for-8 from 3-point range while leading Tulsa out of an early 17-5 hole for its third straight win.
Guard Ray Reese added a season-high 15 points and Rod Earls broke out of a slump with 13 points to spark Tulsa (13-10, 5-6 Conference USA), which shot just 28 percent in the first half but improved to 52 percent while outscoring UTEP 50-18 after halftime.
UTEP (14-9, 5-5) got 19 points from Randy Culpepper and 15 from Stefon Jackson in dropping its 11th consecutive conference road game.
Jerome Jordan scored inside to ignite a 24-5 run to start the second half for Tulsa, which trailed 32-23 at halftime. McDade had three 3-pointers in the surge, and Ben Uzoh's driving basket extended Tulsa's lead to 47-37.
After starting 1-for-14, the Golden Hurricane made 9 of their next 11 3-pointers.
The Golden Hurricane scored the first eight points of the second half, and Jordan's three-point play put them into the lead at 36-34.
UTEP made just 7 of 27 shots in the second half and shot a season-low 30.5 percent for the game while also committing 19 turnovers.
Jordan had nine points, 10 rebounds and three blocks for Tulsa, which outrebounded UTEP 24-13 in the second half. Both teams ended the game with 40 rebounds.
Jackson, who leads Conference USA with a 23.8-point average, made just 4-of-12 field goals while being guarded mostly by Reese. He had scored 29 in UTEP's home win against Tulsa earlier this season.
