Inside strength carries Tulsa past Rockhurst

Nick Volz led the Hawks with 17 points, eight rebounds and four steals.

Box Score Tulsa broke away from Rockhurst midway through the second half to post a 76-56 victory over the Hawks in exhibition play Thursday night at the Reynolds Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The Hurricane went on an 18-2 run down the stretch to grow a seven-point lead, 58-51, to 23 points, 76-53, in the final minute. Tulsa scored 49 points while shooting 61.8 percent (21 of 34) in the second half.

"At some point defending the paint really got away from us," said Rockhurst coach Drew Diener. "I think they threw a punch with their physicality. They really hit the glass and tried to score inside. I think we could have been physical inside to counter that and get some box-out fouls to get them off from the glass."

Nick Volz led the Hawks with 17 points on eight-of-11 shooting, while getting eight rebounds and making four steals. Curtis Lewis scored 16 points, including 12 in the first half to help give the Hawks a 30-27 halftime lead.

"Volz is really a confident guy. He's good at faking and using angles," Diener said. "Curtis was great. I thought in the first half they had no answer for him."

Rockhurst shot well inside the arc (22 of 35), but struggled beyond the three-point line (three of 20) to finish with a 45.5 field goal percentage.

"This was a great experience game for us," Diener said. "They had to change their defense to slow us down. We need to shoot the three better."

The Hawks open the regular season on Friday, Nov. 8 in Grand Rapids, Michigan against Davenport University in the GLIAC/GLVC Challenge.

"We like our personnel," Diener added. "We have great chemistry. These guys are very coachable."

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Players Mentioned

#2 Curtis Lewis: G; 5' 11"; Junior

#13 Nick Volz: F; 6' 8"; Redshirt Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#2 Curtis Lewis
: 5' 11"; Junior
: G

#13 Nick Volz
: 6' 8"; Redshirt Sophomore
: F

Rockhurst University Athletics

Players Mentioned

#2 Curtis Lewis

#13 Nick Volz

Players Mentioned

#2 Curtis Lewis

#13 Nick Volz