Tulsa beats Western Michigan 81-74 in Puerto Rico Tip-Off

Nov 17, 2017, 03:38 am

CONWAY, S.C. -- Curran Scott scored 17 points and Tulsa led wire-to-wire in beating Western Michigan 81-74 on Thursday night in an opening-round game in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off.

Tulsa (2-1) will take on Iowa State in the semifinals Friday while Western Michigan (1-2) faces Appalachian State on the campus of Coastal Carolina where the tournament was moved because of hurricane damage in Puerto Rico.

Junior Etou added 15 points and Elijah Joiner 11 points and seven rebounds for Tulsa, which shot 50 percent and did much of its damage inside with 40 points in the paint while making just 3 of 18 from 3-point range.

Sterling Taplin, who finished with 10 points, scored six of Tulsa's first seven points in a 20-7 run. The Golden Hurricane stayed ahead by double figures until Reggie Jones' 3-pointer cut the lead to nine, 77-68, with 1:16 to go.

Thomas Wilder led the Broncos with 19 points and seven assists. Josh Davis added 14 points and eight rebounds, Bryce Moore 13 points and Brandon Johnson 11 points.