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TULSA, Okla. (AP) -- Freshman point guard Brett McDade had 18 points, seven rebounds and six assists in Tulsa's 79-64 win over Northern Arizona on Saturday.
McDade held on to the ball throughout the game never committing a turnover and nabbing two steals in the Bracket Buster non-conference victory.
Tulsa squandered an early 10-point lead, trailed 36-30 at halftime, then steadily pulled away throughout the second half as leading scorers Jarius Glenn and Anthony Price finally caught fire.
Combined, Glenn and Price were 3-for-15 in the first 22 minutes, but overpowered the Lumberjacks inside the rest of the way.
Glenn finished with 17 points, six rebounds and four assists, while Price contributed 14 points.
"We did a much better job in the second half of creating space and giving those guys room to maneuver, said TU interim coach Alvin Williamson. "And Brett had a very good overall game. We need more from him like that.
Tulsa improved to 7-16 in winning at home for the fourth time in its past five outings.
Steven Sir paced Northern Arizona, 11-15, with 15 points, followed by Ruben Boykin Jr. with 12 and Kyle Feuerbach with 11.
Ryan McCurdy had 10 rebounds for the visitors, who shot just 36.1 percent, including 31 percent in the second half (9-29). A 3-pointer by McDade broke a 47-47 tie with 10:05 remaining and put Tulsa in front to stay.
Price followed with a basket inside, followed by a short floater by Glenn to make it 54-47. Another basket by Price, two free throws by McDade and two more by Price and it was 60-51 with 6:35 to play.
The Lumberjacks cut it to 60-54 before a conventional 3-point play on a drive by Glenn followed by another McDade 3-pointer pushed the lead to 66-54 at 4:43. Tulsa shot 51.4 percent in the second half, 48.3 percent for the game and outrebounded Northern Arizona 40-37.
