Strong second half propels Tulsa to big win over South Carolina St.

When Tulsa can get Reggie Jones, Jeriah Horne and Lawson Korita all connecting from long range, opponents had better watch out.

Jones led Tulsa with 12 of his game-high 18 points in the second half. Jones, Horne and Korita combined to make 12 of 19 three-pointers (63.1 percent) as Tulsa defeated South Carolina State 78-47 on Wednesday afternoon in front of a crowd of 2,840 at the Reynolds Center.

Expectations have been high for Jones, a 6-foot-7 Western Michigan transfer who averaged 9.8 points over two years before transferring and sitting out last season at Tulsa.

Jones has started off the season a little slow by his standards, averaging 7.6 points in five games coming into Wednesday's contest. He made five of eight from behind the arc in 23 minutes against the Bulldogs.

A 33.9 percent three-point shooter at Western Michigan, Jones is averaging less points because he is shooting less. He is six-of-13 on three-pointers (46.2 percent), and was shooting 44.8 percent from the field in 20 minutes per game.

“Throughout the season, it's really been a process of my teammates telling me to keep shooting the ball,” Jones said. “They’ve really been giving me confidence. So, I’ve just been shooting it.”

Tulsa (5-1) took care of business in a game where the outcome was much like the Golden Hurricane’s 74-52 victory over South Carolina State on Nov. 10 of last season. Both games turned out to be relaxing, forgettable wins.

South Carolina State (2-4) was competitive in the first half, and actually led 27-26 late in the half. But two three-pointers by Korita late in the half gave Tulsa a 32-27 halftime lead, and propelled TU to a 20-2 run which essentially put away the Bulldogs.

A victory by 31 points should be expected against a South Carolina State team that finished 8-26 last season and has losses of 26 points at Austin Peay and Liberty, by 33 points at Memphis, and by 37 points and Vanderbilt.

For Jones, who had half of his season’s points (19) coming into the game in a loss at UT Arlington, his performance against SC State validates what he expects from himself at Tulsa.

“Coming to Tulsa, they really helped me get my body together, elevate my game, so I feel like that was one of my better moves,” Jones said of coming to Tulsa.

For Horne, the 6-7 junior Nebraska transfer who averaged 10.1 points and 4.9 rebounds for Tulsa last season, the game was a good opportunity to get himself back on track. A 37.4 percent shooter on threes last season, Horne came into the game having made only 4-of-22 (18.2 percent) from beyond the arc.

Horne had 12 points and seven rebounds against the Bulldogs, including making four-of-seven (57.1 percent) on three-pointers. He came into the game averaging 9.6 points and four rebounds.

Korita made three-of-four three-pointers (75 percent) and finished with nine points. He came into the game averaging 4.4 points, while making only 4-of-17 threes (23.5 percent).

Overall, Tulsa shot 50.9 percent from the field, including 46.2 percent from deep. TU was averaging 43.4 percent from the field and 23.3 percent on three-pointers.

“We’ve been waiting for one of these games where we shot the ball well from three, and that kind of opened things up,” said TU coach Frank Haith.

Tulsa’s best player so far this season, Brandon Rachal, had another strong game, registering a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, and added three steals.

Rachal, the 6-6 juco transfer who played for LSU as a freshman, hit five-of-six from the field (83.3 percent). He was leading Tulsa in both scoring at 17.6 points and rebounding at 8.2 boards per game.

Another player having a strong game was Martins Igbanu, who had 12 points and made five-of-seven field goals (71.4 percent).

Point guards Isaiah Hill and Elijah Joiner each had five assists and zero turnovers.

In an uncharacteristically quick game that took less than 100 minutes, Tariq Simmons led the Bulldogs in scoring with 10 points.

The TU victory was No. 100 at TU for Haith, who didn’t realize he had hit the landmark in his sixth season at Tulsa.

“That means I’ve been very blessed,” Haith said of the victory total. “I’ve had some really good players and coaches, and I’m just grateful for Tulsa sticking with me.”

Tulsa’s next game is at Vanderbilt at 7 p.m. on Saturday night. TU returns home next Wednesday night against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.