Tulsa
Houston
Tulsa Downed By Houston
2/6/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 6, 2008
Box Score
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HOUSTON - Robert McKiver knocked down a game-high 33 points as the Houston Cougars held off the Tulsa Golden Hurricane for a 92-81 victory at Hofheinz Arena on Wednesday night.
Tulsa dropped to 10-10 on the season and 2-6 in Conference USA play, while the Cougars improved to 17-4 and 6-1.
Ben Uzoh led five Tulsa players in double-figures with 17 points, while adding five rebounds and five assists. Calvin Walls added 13 points followed by 12 by Ray Reese, 11 by Glenn Andrews and 10 by Justin Hurtt. Hurricane seven-footer Jerome Jordan had a game-high 11 rebounds and blocked three shots.
"That's the way Houston plays," said Tulsa Head Coach Doug Wojcik. "Robert McKiver was really good tonight. He can absolutely score. He did whatever he wanted to do in the first half. I truly believe he'll be playing in the NBA."
Houston built a 14-point halftime lead as McKiver scored 26 first-half points on 8-of-13 from the field and 6-of-8 from three-point range. The Cougars shot 61-percent in the first half while taking a 54-40 halftime lead. Tulsa could never close the gap to less than 10 points in the second half, as the Cougars built its biggest lead to 19 points with 2:31 remaining in the game.
In the first half, Houston took its first double-digit lead at the 11:36 mark on a Zamal Nixon layup at the 11:36 mark. Tulsa could only get as close as five points, 32-27, with 6:36 left before intermission, but the Cougars continued with its blistering shooting, knocking down 61-percent from the field and 60-percent on 67-of-10 from three-point range in the first 20 minutes.
Although the Tulsa defense stiffened in the second half, holding the Cougars to 39-percent from the field and 15-percent on just 2-of-13 from three-point range, the Hurricane couldn't cut the double-digit deficit. Houston also knocked down 24-of-29 free throws for the game, including 10-of-12 in the second half.
The Hurricane out-rebounded the Cougars 44-31, while grabbing 17 offensive boards. Tulsa also dished out 18 assists and shot 43-percent from the field, while Houston ended the game shooting 49-percent
"They can really shoot the ball. Once they get going like that they're hard to stop," said Tulsa's Walls. "They get up and down the floor fast, and they kept knocking down shots. When they shoot that well, we had to take advantage of every possession."
Wojcik was pleased with his team's effort and rebounding ability, but the 21 Hurricane turnovers was frustrating for the head coach.
"We made 10 three-pointers and shot 43-percent in a tough gym on the road. We rebounded the ball well, had 18 assists and 32 bench points. I was pleased with our fight and effort, but turnovers hurt us again," added Wojcik.
Tulsa returns home to host the Southern Miss Golden Eagles on Saturday night at 7:00 pm. USM is coming off an overtime victory against UAB on Tuesday night.
