TULSA, Okla. — Sterling Taplin scored 18 points and Tulsa nearly erased a second-half deficit with a 12-0 run, but Nick Garth had a game-high 23 points as Lamar held on for a season-opening 74-67 win on Friday afternoon at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.
Taplin led three players in double-figures for the Golden Hurricane (0-1), who played in front of a crowd of 7,431, the largest at the Reynolds Center since Feb. 7, 2015 (7,677). Thanks to a generous donation from Gary and Anita Rathburn, more than 4,100 school children from the northeastern Oklahoma area, attended the contest as part of a Blackboards & Backboards Educational Day.