Austin Richie's reputation as a long range sharpshooter was finally on display for Tulsa.

If this is Richie's breakout game, Tulsa will definitely become a considerably better team.

Richie scored 14 of his game-high 19 points in the first half to lead Tulsa to a dominant 82-55 victory over Northwestern State on Friday night at the Reynolds Center in another game without fans due to the coronavirus.

Tulsa (2-3, 0-1 AAC) rebounded after a disappointing four-point loss to rival Wichita State on Tuesday with a performance that should give the Golden Hurricane confidence.

Richie came into the game with eight total points, making just 2 of 11 three-pointers. Against the Demons, Richie was 5 of 10 from beyond the arc, 7 of 14 overall, and also grabbed three rebounds in 23 minutes coming off the bench.

"We need Austin to get comfortable because we've seen it in practice," said Tulsa coach Frank Haith. "He has the ability to get it going. He gives us another guy who can score off the bench."

The 6-foot-6, 225-pound junior hit the third most three-pointers among juco players last season for Triton College, and hit at a 45 percent clip. Richie is a solidly-built player with good quickness who also showed the ability to shoot on the move.

"You're hoping it gives him a lot more confidence," Haith said. "When you're joining a new team, you're trying to figure out your space and where you can contribute. I challenged Austin to be more than a three-point shooter, but obviously that helps us because we need that.

"I was really encouraged to see him drive the ball some tonight because he has that ability. He is a big, strong kid. I thought he defended well. We challenged him to be better on that end of the court."

Also excelling for the Golden Hurricane was Rey Idowu, who had 10 points and 8 rebounds in 20 minutes of solid inside play. A junior Illinois State transfer, the 6-9 Idowu is looking more and more comfortable and showing an array of low post moves.

"Rey is coming. He's getting better and better," Haith said. "We want him to post hard and give us opportunities around the basket. He has a chance to do that. Like Austin, he is getting more and more confident in what he is doing."