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UTEP
Tulsa Falls in C-USA Semifinal to UTEP, 66-54
3/11/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 11, 2011
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EL PASO, Texas - Justin Hurtt led Tulsa with 17 points, but the Golden Hurricane fell to UTEP, 66-54, in the semifinals of the 2011 Buick Conference USA Men's Basketball Championship Friday afternoon at the Don Haskins Center.
The Golden Hurricane falls to 19-13 overall, while UTEP improves to 25-8. Joe Richard scored a season-high 11 points and grabbed nine rebounds, and Jordan Clarkson added 10 points. Randy Culpepper scored 26 points to lead UTEP, which shot 56 percent from the field.
The game was a slugfest through the first three-quarters of the game until UTEP went on a 17-4 run to take a 57-46 lead with 7:21 remaining. Tulsa had a 42-40 lead with 13:44 left in the game.
Tulsa's largest lead was four points at, 37-33, on a put-back dunk by Richard with 16:40 lef in the game. UTEP took its largest lead at 12 points with 5:21 remaining, and TU only got as close as eight points the rest of the way.
The first half was a back-and-forth battle as each team made big play after big play. Hurtt scored 11 straight Tulsa points, including three three-pointers in a row. Hurtt's scoring run, capped by a two-point jumper, gave TU an, 18-16, lead with 10:18 left in the first period.
Tulsa took a, 28-27, lead into the locker room at the half.
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