Tulsa Takes Down Oregon State 75-64

Tuesday, November 22

8 p.m.

Tulsa

2-2

Oregon State

2-3

Oregon State

Tulsa

Tulsa Takes Down Oregon State 75-64

11/22/2016 10:45:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Don Tomkalski

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Junior Etou scored 17 points and Jaleel Wheeler added 16 as Tulsa held off a second-half Oregon State rally for a 75-64 victory Tuesday night in front of 3,372 fans at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.

Tulsa evened its record to 2-2 after winning its last two games, while Oregon State fell to 2-3 on the season.

Tulsa led by as many as 16 points in the first half, but Oregon State began the second half on a 17-3 run. Tulsa regained its composure and held off the Beavers to capture the 11-point win. The Hurricane maintained a consistent 45-percent field goal percentage throughout the game, but in the second half Tulsa committed 11 more turnovers and had five less assists than in the first 20 minutes

For the game, Tulsa held a 38-23 rebounding edge over an Oregon State team that had three players standing at least 6'10". Tulsa tied a season-high 10 three pointers and shot a season-best .760 from the free throw line.

Trailing by 15 points at halftime, 37-22, the Beavers scored 14 points in the first four minutes of the second half and cut the Tulsa lead to four points, 40-36, at the 16:15 mark. The only basket in that four-minute stretch for Tulsa was a traditional three-point play on a layup and free throw by Etou.

"I think what we did was we shot quick shots early in the second half," said Tulsa Head Coach Frank Haith. "We got out of character on offense in the second half. They have good players and they made some shots, they got their rhythm and they got confidence, but I'm proud of how we bowed our backs and didn't falter."

Kendal Manuel's three-point basket at the 14:06 mark cut the Hurricane lead to one point at 40-39, but Tulsa responded with seven points of there own on a jumper by Wheeler, two free throws by Will Magnay and a three-pointer by Etou to move its lead back to eight points at 47-39 with 12:41 to play. OSU scored the next five points and made the score 47-44 before Tulsa again went on a run of there own, scoring the next six points for a 53-44 lead with 9:58 remaining in the contest.

Two Wheeler free throws gave Tulsa a double-figure lead at 57-46, and after the Hurricane held a 61-50 lead at the 6:30 mark, the Beavers cut it to four points, 62-58, with 4:01 left on the game clock.

Etou's three-pointer from the left corner put Tulsa ahead 65-58 with less than four minutes to play, as Tulsa closed out the game by out-scoring OSU 13-6 in the final four minutes, including making 8-of-10 free throws down the stretch, for the victory.

Tulsa jumped out to a 10-2 lead in the first four minutes of the game as four different Hurricane players had already been in the scoring column. Sterling Taplin's three-pointer at the 12:33 mark gave Tulsa its first double-digit lead at 11 points, 16-5.

Oregon State out-scored Tulsa over the next three-minute stretch 10-3 to cut the Hurricane lead to four points, 19-15, at the 9:04 mark. Etou's three pointer from the left corner set Tulsa on a 6-0 run in led than a minute span to take a 25-15 lead.

With Tulsa ahead 27-19, Wheeler's jumper started a 10-2 run that gave Tulsa a 37-21 lead with 2:42 remaining in the first half.

The Hurricane went into intermission ahead 37-22 as Wheeler led eight players in the scoring column, as seven of those players each connected on one three-point field goal. Tulsa had 10 first-half assists and shot 45 percent from the field and 41 percent from three-point range, while forcing nine Oregon State turnovers and the Beavers to shoot 39-percent from the field.

Tulsa will be back in action on Monday in the PSO Mayor's Cup Game against city rival Oral Roberts. Tip-off time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at the ORU Mabee Center.

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