Feb. 4, 2012

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TULSA, Okla. - Sophomore guard Jordan Clarkson powered a spirited effort from the Tulsa men's basketball team, as the Golden Hurricane defeated Marshall 79-70 in front of a crowd of 4,751 Saturday night inside Donald W. Reynolds Center.

Tulsa (14-9, 7-2 Conference USA) won its seventh-straight game and moved into sole possession of second place in the C-USA standings. TU now sits a half-game behind first-place Southern Miss (7-1) and a half-game clear of Memphis (6-2). Marshall slipped to 14-9 overall and 5-4 in league play after dropping its fifth game in its last six attempts.

Clarkson led the way with 21 points for TU on 7-of-11 shooting. He was aided by 30 combined points from senior center Steven Idlet and sophomore guard Tim Peete off the bench. Idlet was 10-for-10 from the free-throw line, while Peete hit 5-of-6 shots, including both three-point attempts.

Sophomore forward Kodi Maduka scored nine points and senior forward D.J. Magley hauled in nine rebounds.

Tulsa shot a blistering 56 percent from the field. The team was also 5-of-11 (46 percent) from behind the arc and 24-for-33 (78 percent) from the charity stripe. The Golden Hurricane outrebounded the Thundering Herd 34-30.

Damier Pitts and DeAndre Kane both had 21 points to pace the visitors, and Dennis Tinnon added 12 points and nine rebounds for Marshall.

The Thundering Herd shot 40 percent from the field, hit 3-of-13 (23 percent) trey's and converted 23-of-28 (82 percent) free throw attempts.

Neither team was able to run away with the game in the early going, and there were six ties before the under-12 media timeout.

Magley hit a jumper on TU's first possession coming out of the media timeout to give the home team a 15-13 advantage. That bucket sparked a quick 7-0 run that was capped by a three-point basket from Clarkson at the 9:28 mark.

Marshall was able to get within three on two occasions, but Clarkson's 10 first-half points and TU's 52-percent shooting allowed the Golden Hurricane to take a 37-30 advantage into intermission.

The Thundering Herd came screaming out of the gates in the second half, using a 9-0 run in the first four minutes to take a 39-37 lead.

Tulsa halted the Marshall burst when Idlet hit a jumper in the paint, and the two teams remained tied until the 9:32 mark. That was when Idlet converted two free throws to give the home side a lead it would not relinquish.

Marshall kept the score tight and trailed 63-60 with 6:07 to play, but an 8-2 run from Tulsa allowed the home team to jump ahead 71-62 with 3:52 to play.

The road squad had one more spurt in it, battling back to a 71-67 deficit, but Clarkson would not be denied as he scored six points on TU's next two possessions to put the game out of reach. The first was a pull-up three with the shot clock winding down, and the second was a contested pull-up jumper from the free-throw line that drew a foul. He buried the free throw, and Tulsa cruised in the final minute and a half to the 79-70 triumph.

This was Clarkson's 20th-straight game scoring in double figures.

The Golden Hurricane will return to action with an 8 p.m. meeting Feb. 8 at UTEP. The matchup with the Miners will be televised by CBS Sports Network.