Tulsa Falls at Wichita State, 80-53

Wednesday, November 16

Wichita, Kan.

7 p.m.

Tulsa

0-2

Wichita State

3-0

Tulsa

Wichita State

Tulsa Falls at Wichita State, 80-53

11/16/2016 10:06:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Eric Hollier

Box Score | HTML Box Score

WICHITA, Kan. – Senior guard Pat Birt scored 17 points to lead Tulsa, but the Golden Hurricane fell at Wichita State, 80-53, Wednesday evening at Charles Koch Arena.

Birt hit three 3-pointers and led Tulsa (0-2) with four assists. Junior guard Corey Henderson Jr. tallied nine points and junior forward Junior Etou grabbed nine rebounds for the Hurricane.

Wichita State (3-0) held a 52-30 advantage on the boards and shot 43 percent from the field, while TU shot 33 percent on field goals. Markis McDuffie led the Shockers with 18 points and Darral Willis Jr. added 16 points.

"I thought the difference in the game was how well they rebounded the ball," Tulsa Head Coach Frank Haith said. "They were plus-22 on the glass. We had some unforced turnovers, but I thought we handled their pressure for the most part, OK. We'll get better. Give Wichita State credit. They're a really good team, and they play well together."

The Golden Hurricane returns home to play New Orleans at 3 p.m. Saturday at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.

Edogi scored Tulsa's first basket when he took a steal down the floor for a dunk, tying the score at 2-2. Wichita State went ahead 11-3, and led 21-10 with 11:38 to play in the first half. Will Magnay and Lawson Korita made consecutive baskets to spark a 10-2 Tulsa run to cut the deficit to 23-20 with 7:34 remaining in the first half. Birt knocked down a pair of free throws and a 3-pointer, and Igbanu hit a free throw to make it a three-point game.

Wichita State extended its lead to 37-20 with a 14-0 run, but Birt scored seven straight points to halt the run and make the score, 37-27, with 2:26 to play in the half. The Shockers made it 44-27 with a pair of 3-pointers, and then Henderson sunk a 3-pointer with 0:35 left in the half to make the score 44-30 at the break.

In the second half, the Shockers led 51-36 before Henderson hit a jumper to make the score 51-38 at the 13:25 mark. Edogi made a layup with 11:58 to play cutting it to 55-43, but Tulsa was held scoreless over the next 4:40 as Wichita State went on a 16-0 run to take a 71-43 lead. Taplin then hit a 16-foot jumper and a trey, followed by a baseline jumper from Birt to make the score 71-50 with 5:57 to play. That was as close as Tulsa would get the rest of the way.

"(Second chance points) were extremely important (in the second half)," Haith said. "We were getting stops. I think they shot 40 percent in the second half. We were getting stops, but we just couldn't secure the rebounds. That's where we have to get better. We had some momentum there, but we just couldn't rebound the ball, and I think that was the difference."

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