Tulsa jumped out to a big lead in the first half and staved off a late rally, to defeat Rice, 87-81 at Tudor Fieldhouse, in Houston on Saturday.

The Golden Hurricane (17-3 overall) have now won four in a row and are 5-2 in American Conference play.

Tulsa was led by Miles Barnstable with 21 points. He made three three-pointers and converted 8-of-9 free throws. Jaylen Lawal added 17 points and recorded two steals, contributing significantly to the defensive effort. David Green scored 16 points with three three-pointers and collected two steals. Tyler Behrend added seven points and led the team with six rebounds.

Tulsa led 16-0 before Rice scored their first basket on a three-point shot by Cam Carroll.

Not only did Tulsa open the first half with offensive dominance, but the Golden Hurricane capitalized on turnovers, maintaining pressure on the Owls with efficient scoring and defensive stops.

Tulsa had a commanding 51-31 lead at halftime.

Rice mounted a comeback in the second half led by the three-point shooting of Jalen Smith, but the Golden Hurricane maintained the lead and closed out the game with clutch free throws to secure the win.

Smith led the Owls with 24 points, followed by Trae Broadnax who added 21.

The Golden Hurricane will host Wichita State on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. on ESPNU.