Short-handed Tulsa Sinks Pirates 55-43

Tuesday, January 5

Reynolds Center

6:00 p.m.

Tulsa

9-6, 1-2

East Carolina

8-7, 0-2

Team	1	2	F
East Carolina	14	29	43
Tulsa	37	18	55

Short-handed Tulsa Sinks Pirates 55-43

1/5/2016 8:42:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Don Tomkalski

Box Score | Postgame Quotes

Tulsa's Rashad Smith scored a game-high 20 points in a 55-43 Golden Hurricane victory over the East Carolina Pirates in American Athletic Conference action Tuesday night in front of 4,244 fans at the Donald W. Reynolds Center. Tulsa improved to 9-6 on the year and 1-2 in league play, while the Pirates slipped to 8-7 and 0-2 in conference action.

Tulsa led by double-digits for nearly the final 30 minutes of the game without its second-leading scorer James Woodard (15.9 ppg), who missed the contest after suffering an injury in Tulsa's last outing at Cincinnati. Tulsa's season-leading scorer Shaquille Harrison, averaging 17.9 points on the year, tallied just four points, but it was Smith's inside presence and timely three-point baskets by Rashad Ray, who finished with 11 points, and Sterling Taplin that kept distance between the two teams.

"Obviously it was a good win for our guys," said Tulsa Head Coach Frank Haith. "We were down a man, and if you told me that we wouldn't play with Juice (James Woodard) and that Shaq would only have four points and be 2-for-10 but we would still have a double digit conference win… I'm really proud of our guys."

"It was a good win. Our defense was outstanding. We needed to protect our home court tonight," added Haith.

Unlike the first half when East Carolina missed their first five shot attempts, the Pirates scored on their first two attempts in the second half, but still managed just six points thru the first six minutes of the second half as Tulsa built its lead to 43-19 with 14:17 left on the game clock.

The Pirates kept battling and cut a 24-point deficit to 13 points, 53-38, at the 5:55 mark of the second half. Tulsa would score just two more points the remainder of the game, while ECU scored five more points in the final five minutes.

After shooting 52 percent in the first half from the field, the Hurricane cooled off in the second 20 minutes, shooting just 22 percent. East Carolina improved its second-half shooting percentage drastically from the first 20 minutes, going from 18 to 46-percent. Tulsa made just three field goals in the final 9:15 of the contest.

Tulsa opened the game scoring the first seven points, while holding the Pirates scoreless for the first 6:15 of the contest until Clarence Williams scored ECU's first basket at the 13:45 mark of the first quarter.

ECU made one of their first 12 shots as the Hurricane jumped out to a 12-2 lead with 11:53 on the clock when Rashad Smith scored on a layup. Tulsa expanded its lead to 23-6 with 6:56 remaining in the first half, as the Hurricane knocked down 10-of-23 field goals for 43.5 percent, and Tulsa's suffocating defense held the Pirates to just 2-of-19 from the field in the first 13 minutes.

The Hurricane finished the final six minutes of the first half by outscoring the Pirates 14-8 to take a 37-14 lead at the intermission. The 23-point halftime margin was the biggest lead of the first half for the Hurricane, wile ECU's 14 points is the fewest for an opponent at the Reynolds Center since UTEP was held to just 13 points on March 13, 2003.

Tulsa shot 52 percent from the field in the first half, while the Pirates managed to shoot 18-percent from the field, converting just 6-of-33 shots. Tulsa has 11 assists and forced 12 ECU turnovers, while the Hurricane had advantages of 22-12 points in the paint, 13-2 points off turnovers and 16-4 bench points.

Rashad Smith scored 10 first-half points to lead the Hurricane.

Tulsa goes on the road to face the Tulane Green Wave in American Athletic Conference action this Sunday for a 1:00 p.m. (CT) game. Tulsa returns to the Reynolds Center next Thursday to host the #23-ranked UConn Huskies with a 6:00 p.m. tip-off.

Follow Tulsa Men's Basketball on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/TUMBasketball and Instagram at TulsaMBasketball. Follow Tulsa Athletics on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/TulsaHurricane and Facebook at www.facebook.com/TulsaHurricane. For all news and information about Tulsa Basketball, go to www.TulsaHurricane.com.