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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
TULSA, Okla. (AP) -- Rice had trouble getting close to the
basket, let alone getting the ball through it against 13th-ranked
Tulsa.
The Golden Hurricane dominated a 75-33 victory Monday night over the struggling Owls. At the end, Rice had more turnovers than
points.
Tulsa coach Bill Self called the 35 turnovers a "freak thing,"
partly attributable to poor play by short-handed Rice. But
ultimately, he pointed to his team's 20 steals.
"We really guarded today," he said. "Our offense wasn't
great, but our defense was outstanding."
The Golden Hurricane (23-2, 8-1 Western Athletic Conference)
rattled the Owls (4-17, 0-9) from the start.
Eric Coley, who led Tulsa with 18 points, had eight steals --
seven of them in the first half.
Coley's 263rd career steal, leading to a twisting
behind-the-head dunk with 8½ minutes to play, broke Tim Hardaway's
conference record for steals. Hardaway, a star guard for the Miami
Heat, set the record for Texas El-Paso from 1986-89.
But Coley wasn't alone. Guard Tony Heard backed Rice players
down the court, grinning as they searched for relief.
"Your best defender was Tony Heard, and he has zero skills,"
Self said. "But what he does, he puts so much pressure on them he
makes guys pass the ball, just trying to get rid of it."
Tulsa had help on offense from Marcus Hill who added 11 points,
including a 3-pointer in a 15-0 run that gave the Golden Hurricane
a 19-4 lead.
Rice, on its longest losing streak since losing 18 straight in
the 1975-76 season, scored only two points in the first 7½ minutes.
The Owls shot 27 percent for the game.
Rice's 33 points matched the least allowed by Tulsa since the
Golden Hurricane beat the Owls 65-33 in 1997.
"Tulsa played like a hungry basketball team for 40 minutes,"
Rice coach Willis Wilson said. "As a coach, that's very
impressive."
Alex Bougaieff led Rice with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
With three starters sitting out with injuries, Wilson said his
team's inexperience had a lot to do with turnovers. He was hopeful
that Mike Wilks, the team's second-leading scorer, will be able to
return from a knee sprain against San Jose State or Hawaii later
this week.
"As a coach when you walk down the bench ... and you've got
three starters over there that could make a major league
difference, it's a little bit tough," he said.
The Golden Hurricane's most dominating game of the season came
before a national television audience. Coley saw it as a chance to
make a statement.
"Coach told us a lot of people have never seen us play this
year, and we want to make a great impact, a good showing across the
country for everybody to see we're not just a fluke or a surprise
team in the Top 25," he said.
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