Tulsa
UCF
Tulsa Holds Off UCF, 55-50
1/30/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 30, 2010
Box Score |
Box Score 
Orlando, Florida -- Justin Hurtt had 16 points and Ben Uzoh 15 as the Golden Hurricane held on for a 55-50 victory over the UCF Knights in front of 6,632 fans on Saturday afternoon at the UCF Arena.
Tulsa improved to 17-4 overall and 6-1 in Conference USA action, while UCF dropped to 10-11 and 2-5. The Hurricane captured the season series against the Knights and gained its first win in Orlando in five games.
Uzoh knocked down a 15-foot jumper from the right corner with the shot clock running down to put the Hurricane ahead 53-48 with 2:06 left in the game. UCF then cut the Tulsa lead to 53-50 on free throws by Keith Clanton and Marcus Jordan.
After a Tulsa turnover with 0:33 left on the clock, the Hurricane got the ball back when the Knights turned the ball back over to Tulsa. Jerome Jordan, who finished with 10 points, knocked down two free throws at the 0:19 mark giving the Hurricane a 55-50 lead. Three desperation three pointers missed the mark for the Knights to end the game.
Tulsa led the entire second half and built its' largest lead of seven points twice. The first came at 14:41 on a Donte Medder three-pointer to make it 41-34, and then at 45-38 with 11:54 left in the contest.
Tulsa held UCF to 37-percent shooting from the field as the Knights failed to connect on a three-pointer, going 0-of-12 on the night. The Hurricane converted 50-prercent from the field and 85-percent from the free throw line, making 11-of-13 for the game.
Hurtt led the first-half scoring for the Hurricane with 11 points, including a two-point jumper with 0:05 left on the first-half clock to give the Hurricane a 29-28 lead at the intermission.
There were 14 lead changes and seven ties in the first half as the biggest lead was four points when the Hurricane took a 4-0 lead to start the contest. UCF's Clanton had 10 first-half points to lead the Knights.
Tulsa returns home to face one of C-USA's most surprising teams and one of the league leaders in the Marshall Thundering Herd on Wednesday night at 7 pm. The Herd has suffered two last second losses against 6-0 UAB and 5-1 Memphis in its' last two contests.
Tickets for Wednesday night's marquee matchup featuring two seven-footers, Tulsa's Jerome Jordan and the nation's shot-blocking leader Hassan Whiteside of Marshall, can be purchased for as low as $10. Order tickets online at tulsahurricane.com or by calling 918.631.GoTU (4688).
