Box Score Box Score
TULSA, Okla. – Tulsa's Steven Idlet scored 23 points on 9-for-9 shooting from the floor and the Golden Hurricane benefitted on 59 percent shooting in the first half to claim a 67-52 win over Southeastern Louisiana on Sunday at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.
Scottie Haralson added 10 points for Tulsa (2-0), which finished 24-for-47 (51.1 percent) from the floor including 13-for-22 (59.1 percent) in the first half. Kodi Maduka pulled down eight rebounds for Tulsa, which never trailed in the contest and led by as many as 18 points.
Southeastern (0-1), which will face Spring Hill College in the Lions' home opener on Tuesday, was led by
Brandon Fortenberry with 19 points while
DeShawn Patterson scored 11 – all in the first half.
The Lions trailed 22-18 when newcomer
Jan Petrovcic scored on a layup, but Tulsa's Tim Peete drained a 3-pointer after a timeout that started a 15-2 run to give the Golden Hurricane a 37-20 lead with 17:35 remaining in the game.
“I thought our guys did a very good job against their (Tulsa's) size, especially in the first half,” Southeastern head coach Jim Yarbrough said. “I thought we got a little tired in the second half. We've got to be able to use our bench and be effective. Every guy who played made a contribution, but they (Tulsa) wore us down.”
Idlet, the Golden Hurricane's 6-foot-11 center, made his first career 3-pointer on Tulsa's opening possession and capped a 7-2 run to open the game with a layup off a Haralson miss. Idlet helped Tulsa to a 33-20 halftime lead after scoring 11 points on 5-for-5 aim in the first 20 minutes.
“He was very efficient and made it very difficult for us,” Yarbrough said. “He wore us down physically and was just very good. I thought we played the others fairly well. Having a 6-11 body like that makes all the difference in the world and hats off to them. It was a good test for us and I was really pleased that we fought as hard as we did for as long as we did.”
Tulsa led 51-33 on a bucket by David Wishon with 9:58 remaining before Southeastern chipped away at the lead with a 10-0 run.
Antonnio Benton started the rally with a three-point play before
Michael Harrel scored on a layup and Fortenberry added a basket to cut the lead to 51-40 with 8:19 left. Fortenberry, who finished 7-for-19 from the floor, drained a 3-pointer with 7:52 left to cut the deficit to 51-43, but Idlet returned to the floor and sank three free throws to push the Tulsa lead back to double digits.
Southeastern finished 20-for-56 (35.7 percent) from the floor and 7-for-23 (30.4 percent) from behind the 3-point line. Patterson went 5-for-5 from the floor in the opening half for the Lions while LSU transfer
Daron Populist scored six points in his first career start.
SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA (0-1)
Fortenberry 7-19 2-3 19; Patterson 5-7 0-2 11; Populist 2-3 0-0 6; Benton 1-4 3-3 5; Harrel 2-4 0-0 4; Ochie 1-3 0-0 3; Petrovcic 1-6 0-0 2; Johnson 1-6 0-0 2; Cooper 0-2 0-0 0; Campbell 0-2 0-0 0; Nelson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-56 5-8 52.
TULSA (2-0)
Idlet 9-9 4-6 23; Haralson 4-9 0-1 10; Richard 3-5 2-3 8; Maduka 3-7 1-1 7; McClellan 2-5 1-2 6; Clarkson 0-6 4-4 4; Magley 1-2 1-1 3; Peete 1-3 0-0 3; Wishon 1-1 0-0 2; Smith 0-0 1-2 1; Medder 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-47 14-20 67.
Halftime – Tulsa 33, SLU 20. 3-point goals – SLU 7-23 (Fortenberry 3-9; Populist 2-3; Patterson 1-2; Ochie 1-2; Johnson 0-2; Campbell 0-1; Petrovcic 0-1; Benton 0-3), Tulsa 5-14 (Haralson 2-5; McClellan 1-2; Idlet 1-1; Peete 1-3; Clarkson 0-3). Fouled out - Johnson. Rebounds - Southeastern La. 28 (Three with 5), Tulsa 38 (Maduka 8). Assists – SLU 8 (Fortenberry 3), Tulsa 16 (Three with 3). Total fouls – SLU 18, Tulsa 13. Technical fouls - None. A – 3,750.
