Tulsa 70, William & Mary 67: Marquel Curtis poured in a career-high 21 points to fuel the host Golden Hurricane to a first-round NIT triumph.

The junior guard shot 7-of-10 from the field, 3-of-4 from the arc and 4-of-4 from the foul line for Tulsa (23-10), which had lost three of its previous four games. James Woodard added 15 points and 10 rebounds as the second-seeded Golden Hurricane host No. 3 seed Murray State in the second round.

Marcus Thornton paced William & Mary (20-13) with 23 points on 8-of-24 shooting, while Omar Prewitt had 15 points and 11 rebounds. Terry Tarpey notched 14 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Tribe, who shot only 33.8 percent.

Curtis capped a 13-point first half with a late jumper to stake Tulsa to a 39-32 lead at the break. Woodard scored seven points during a 9-0 run to open the second half as the Golden Hurricane extended their lead to 48-32 en route to a 57-36 cushion with about 13 minutes remaining.

The Tribe fought back furiously and closed to within 66-63 with 1:50 left before Curtis answered with a 3-pointer. William & Mary was once again down by three in the waning seconds, but Thornton and Tarpey each misfired from the arc with a chance to tie the game.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Curtis came in averaging 6.9 points and had scored in single digits in 14 of his previous 15 games. ... Rashad Smith chipped in 13 points and eight rebounds for Tulsa. ... The teams combined for 30 offensive rebounds.