Dec. 1, 2006
Box Score
TULSA, Okla. - Lamar Sanders scored a game-high 18 points, but it was not enough as Lamar University lost 78-64 at the University of Tulsa Friday night in non-conference men's basketball action at Reynolds Center.
Lamar dropped to 3-4 overall and Tulsa improved to 5-1 overall, including 5-0 at home. The Cardinals stay in the city of Tulsa for game two of their three-game road trip for a 7:05 p.m. Monday at Oral Roberts.
The Cardinals scored the game's first five points on a jumper by Stephen Musa and a three-pointer by Darren Hopkins. However, Tulsa answered with a 12-0 run, capped by a layup and a pair of free throws by Ben Uzoh.
Leading 17-16, the Golden Hurricane went on an 11-0 run capped by a Brett McDade 3-pointer to push their lead to 12, 28-16. Lamar responded with an 8-0 run of its own on a Sanders layup and a pair of 3-pointers by Matthew Barrow to trim the lead to 28-24 with 5:40 remaining in the opening half.
Trailing 32-24, the Cardinals closed out the opening stanza with an 8-2 run with Currye Todd nailing a 3-pointer and hitting a layup to cap the first half scoring and pull Lamar within two, 34-32, at halftime.
A jumper by Lawrence Nwevo at 16:59 of the second half trimmed Tulsa's lead to three, 40-37. The Golden Hurricane followed with an 8-0 run to extend their lead to 48-37 on consecutive 3-pointers by Uzoh and Mark Hill. Sanders snapped the run with a layup at 14:50 that made the score 48-37.
Tulsa answered with another 7-0 run with another Hill 3-pointer and consecutive jumpers by Jamel McLean and Rod Earls to extend its lead to 16, 55-39, with 11:14 remaining in the contest. Lamar would get no closer than 14 points the rest of the way.
Sanders was 7-of-10 from the field, including 4-of-5 from 3-point range, in scoring his 18 points. He also grabbed nine rebounds and dished out five assists. Todd was the only other Cardinal in double-figures with 16 points off the bench on 5-of-12 shooting from the field, including 3-of-8 from 3-point range. Lamar was playing without junior John Mertz, senior Dee Burchett and junior James Davis who were suspended for violating team rules.
Lamar shot 38.1 percent (24 of 63) from the field, 32.4 percent (12 of 37) from 3-point range and 36.4 percent (4 of 11) from the free throw line. The Cardinals committed a season-low 10 turnovers, and enjoyed an 18 to 13 advantage in points off turnovers.
Calvin Walls recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds to pace Tulsa. Darold Crow came off the bench to score 11 points and Uzoh added 10.
Tulsa shot 42.5 percent (31 of 73) from the field, 28 percent (7 of 25) from 3-point range and 64.3 percent (9 of 14) from the free throw line. The Golden Hurricane outrebounded Lamar 58 to 31, which led to a 27-6 advantage in second chance points. Tulsa also outscored Lamar 42-18 in points in the paint.
