Birt leads Tulsa over Houston 77-63

TULSA, Okla. (AP) Pat Birt matched his season high of 27 points and Tulsa beat Houston 77-63 on Sunday.

Birt was 10 of 18 from the field, including 5 of 10 on 3-pointers, for the Golden Hurricane (15-8, 7-4 American), who shot 52 percent, 42 percent from the arc, and outrebounded the Cougars 32-23. James Woodard added 15 points as Tulsa won for the seventh time in its last nine games.

Houston's Damyean Dotson was 9-of-17 shooting, making four 3-pointers, to tie his career high of 23 points and go over 1,000 for his career. The Cougars (16-7, 6-5), who hit 11 of 24 on 3-pointers, had their three-game winning streak snapped.

Tulsa never trailed and built a 14-point lead late in the first half with a 13-0 run that included 10 straight points from Birt. His 3-pointer made it 45-25 with 17 minutes remaining in the game.

Tulsa avenged an 81-66 loss at Houston on Jan. 27.