One and done

TULSA Okla. — When the buzzer sounded, Tulsa center Jerome Jordan proved why he was Conference USA's resident star big man.

The 7-foot senior put in 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead the Golden Hurricane to an 80-64 win over Marshall in the quarterfinal of C-USA tournament.

Marshall head coach Donnie Jones said Jordan lives up to his second-team all C=USA billing.

"He's a senior, and he has experience and he's had some very big games," Jones said of Jordan. "He made some tough plays, some tough shots and some tough passes. He's a very good basketball player."

In the second half, the senior was guarded by Marshall's Hassan Whiteside and was able to move around the C-USA Defensive Player of the Year for an easy bucket.

Jordan said working the ball in to the one-on-one post matchup was something his team wasn't really looking for, but he was looking to help his team anyway he can.

"Coach was going to me, and I knew the team really needed me, so I had to come through and deliver any way I could whether it was scoring, getting a rebound or making a defensive play," he said.

The Herd struggled to find the stroke from the field, shooting only 35.6 percent. Tulsa was able to shoot 50 percent.

Marshall led throughout the second half but  the Herd went over six minutes without scoring, allowing Tulsa to go on a 16-0 run to retake the lead.

Marshall's three starting guards, Dago Pena, Chris Lutz and Damier Pitts, shot a combined 2-18 from the field. Marshall's poor shooting and Tulsa's stifling defense led to the Herd's downfall when the final buzzer sounded.

"You have to make shots eventually from the outside," Jones said. "We had some open looks that didn't go down, but give Tulsa credit for doing that. You got to be able to make shots to open things up the way we want to play. We didn't do that tonight."

While Marshall's guards weren't making shots, Tulsa's big-name gaurds in the backcourt were.

Guards Ben Uzoh and Justin Hurtt affected the game as they came in and made timely shots when the Golden Hurricane needed it.

Uzoh finished the game with 18 points, while Hurtt added 15.

Tulsa head coach Doug Wojicik said that's the experience his two starting guards bring when they step onto the court.

"I'm really happy for our kids," said an emotional Wojicik. "For us to come out and score 47 points in the second half two nights in a row, it's a real tribute to these guys. It shows great toughness and unbelievable resiliency."

The Herd held a five point lead at half time, but in the second half, Marshall's leading scorer Tyler Wilkerson picked up his fourth foul.

Marshall was without its leading scorer, and 6-foot-9 senior for most of the half, a fact that Tulsa senior guard Ben Uzoh said it was helpful for the Golden Hurricane in the end. 

"He's pretty much their go to guy when they need to get a basket," Uzoh said. "When he sits down its not a sigh of relief, but we know we can focus in on other guys of the court."

Wilkerson finished the game with 16 points in the game, but was regulated to cheerleader down that pivotal 16-0 run in the second half.

Wilkerson said it was tough watching when he knew he could help.

"It's always hard to sit on the bench when you feel like you should be on the court," Wilkerson said. "The guys played hard, but I just went out there and told them to keep their head in it and keep playing hard."

Taking Wilkerson's place was Whiteside, who had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the freshman's 15th double-double of the year.

But as the Herd head back to Huntington, Marshall is still expected to be invited into postseason play.

Jones said it wouldn't be fair to the players or the school if he didn't accept a bid to play.

"We haven't been to one in 23 years, so I think any postseason would be good for Marshall," Jones said. "We haven't been to one, or invited to one. So we're looking forward to play in some type of postseason. These kids have earned that. We have played well all season, although we we're dissapointed with how we played today. We still won eight of the last nine we played."

The Herd will learn its postseason fate later this weekend.

Game Notes: Wilkerson eclipsed the 1,000 point mark for his career. He now has 1,011 for his career...Marshall falls to 1-5 all-time in the C-USA tournament...Marshall had only five assists for the 10th lowest total in a C-USA tournament game...Marshall largest lead of the night was nine with 15:10 left in the game... Marshall was outscored in the paint 44-30...Tulsa scored 21 points off of 12 Herd turnovers...Jordan's double-double was his the 29th of his career...Tulsa will play No.1 seed UTEP tomorrow in the C-USA semifinal.

Kyle Hobstetter can be contacted at Hobstetter@Marshall.edu.