MEN'S BASKETBALL: Owls crush Tulsa, fall to Fresno State
However, the then No. 22-ranked Tulsa Golden Hurricane picked a bad day to whirl through Autry Court.
They chose junior guard Bobby Crawford's birthday. Crawford hit a school-record eight three-pointers and scored a total of 29 points en route to the Owls' stunning 75-58 upset of Tulsa.
Crawford knew the significance of the game, realizing there was a score to be settled after the Owls lost to Tulsa on Jan. 6.
"After I made the first shot, I knew the stroke was there," the star guard said after the game. "We were humiliated on national TV, losing like that. We knew we owed them one, and we knew we were the better team."
Junior forward Jarvis Kelley-Sanni and freshman forward Jody Lumpkin set the tone early on, by rejecting two of NBA prospect Shea Seals' shots.
After five Crawford three-pointers, senior center Shaun Igo tossed a perfect alley-oop pass to sophomore guard Robert Johnson to give the Owls a 30-19 advantage. By half, the lead was trimmed to 32-24
The second half opened inauspiciously for Rice, as Tulsa scored the first six points of the half.
With the Owls' lead down to a mere two points, it was time for Rice to prove the first half was no fluke. Keyed by excellent defense and two more Crawford threes, Rice exploded on a 19-2 run, effectively putting the game out of reach.
The Golden Hurricane was reduced to fouling the Owls over the last three minutes of the game, in hopes of a monumental collapse, but Rice canned its free-throws to preserve the win.
The key to the game for Rice was keeping a lid on star guard Seals.
The senior guard who saw his stock rise considerably after a fantastic performance against the Dream Team in exhibition play last summer made only five of 24 shots and elicited jeers regarding his NBA credentials of "CBA , CBA" from the student body.
Head Coach Willis Wilson was all smiles after the game.
"[The team] prepared themselves, focused and executed the game plan. Even when they threw their best punch tonight, we were ready to respond. The character and resilient effort of this basketball team is the reason where we're at right now," Wilson said.
The victory moved Rice to 11-8 on the year and 5-4 in Western Athletic Conference play, while dropping Tulsa to 17-6 and 7-2 in conference action.
The Owls saw their emotional high come crashing to the ground in the form of a busted light bulb Saturday night versus Fresno State University.
With 17:50 remaining in the second half of the game, a light approximately 100 feet above the court shattered and delayed the game while officials cleaned up the mess.
Unfortunately for Rice, Fresno State did not wait that long to start cleaning up the Owls.
Fresno State took command of the game from the onset, jumping out to a 14-0 lead in the first five minutes of the game. By halftime, the lead had grown to 45-27.
The Owls looked like a mere shadow of the team that had played so well two nights before versus Tulsa, as they withered under the hostile environment of the sold-out Selland Arena.
The second half held more Fresno State highlights, as the large lead enabled them to run and gun without worrying about turnovers. The Bulldogs extended their lead to 82-54 as the game came to a close.
Daymond Forney led Fresno St. with 21 points, while Kelley-Sanni paced the Owls with 14 points and 9 rebounds.
The team traveled to The Pit last night to take on the University of New Mexico, and continues its three-game road trip tomorrow versus the University of Texas at El Paso.
This item appeared in the Sports section of the February 14, 1997 issue.
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