Etou gets 1,000, Tulsa tops E Carolina 79-53 to open league

Dec 29, 2017, 12:07 am

TULSA, Okla. -- Junior Etou scored 20 points, surpassing 1,000 for his career, and added a career-high 14 rebounds and Tulsa won its American Conference opener over East Carolina 79-53 on Thursday.

Lawson Korita added 12 points, Corey Henderson Jr., had 11 and Geno Artison 10 for the Golden Hurricanes (8-5), who took control in the second half.

Leading 31-27 at the half, Tulsa opened the second half with a 10-2 run, the last eight by Korita, to get the lead into double figures. Etou then hit a 3-pointer and a layup to start the game-breaking 17-0 run midway through the half. Etou had a second 3 in the run that made it 63-37 with eight minutes to play.

Tulsa hit 5 of 10 3-pointers and shot 53 percent in the second half and held the Pirates to 29 percent (9 of 31).

B.J. Tyson had 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Pirates (6-6).