Tulsa Claims 45-24 Win over East Carolina

Saturday, November 5

H.A. Chapman Stadium

7:00 p.m. (CT)

Tulsa

7-2 , 4-1

East Carolina

3-6 , 1-4

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

East Carolina

Tulsa

Tulsa Claims 45-24 Win over East Carolina

11/6/2016 12:39:00 AM | Football

Box Score

By: Don Tomkalski

QUOTES I POST-GAME NOTES
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James Flanders and D'Angelo Brewer each rushed for over 180 yards and the defense came up with big plays as Tulsa handed East Carolina a 45-24 loss in front of 17,557 fans Saturday night at H.A. Chapman Stadium.

The win puts Tulsa (7-2, 4-1 AAC) into a first-place tie in the American Athletic Conference's West Division with next Saturday's opponent, the Navy Midshipmen (6-2, 4-1 AAC).

Tulsa gained 616 yards of total offense, including its sixth 300+ rushing game with 342 yards and added 274 yards through the air. The Hurricane defense also had an outstanding performance with a season-high seven sacks for -68 yards, while holding the Pirates to 38 yards rushing, the lowest rushing output for a Tulsa opponent since limiting UTEP to 31 rushing yards in 2012.

Flanders had 181 and Brewer 180 rushing yards, marking the fourth time this season that Tulsa had two 100-yard rushers in the same game. Flanders' total put him over 1,000 yards on the year at 1,080 yards, and Brewer is now 17 yards shy of 1,000 with 983 yards this season.
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Evans completed 22-of-38 passes for 274 yards and three TDs, while Josh Atkinson was on the receiving end of 10 of those passes for 123 yards and two touchdowns. Matt Linscott, Jeremy Smith and Jesse Brubaker each had two TFLs to lead the Hurricane defense.

East Carolina (3-6, 1-4 AAC) was led by Gardner Minshaw's 336 yards on 29 completions, while Zay Johnson caught 13 passes for 306 yards and one TD.

Tulsa came out of the gates storming down the field, amassing 160 yards in 18 plays on its first two series and jumping out to a 14-0 lead in taking less than eight minutes off the clock. The Hurricane wouldn't score again in the first half until the 6:10 mark of the second quarter, while holding East Carolina to just seven first-half points.

The Pirates, however, came out in the second half like the Hurricane did in the first, taking the second-half kickoff 78 yards in nine plays, and taking just 2:03 off the clock, for a touchdown. James Summers capped the drive with a one-yard run, making the score 24-14. Tulsa wasted little time, only 1:39, in responding as a 40-yard Evans to Lucas pass set-up a seven-yard Flanders run a play later that capped a six-play, 72-yard drive. With that touchdown, the Hurricane went ahead 31-14 at the 11:04 mark of the third quarter.

The Pirates scored on a second straight possession, but this time was held to a 39-yard field goal, cutting Tulsa's lead to 14 points at 31-17 with 7:02 left in the third stanza.

It took Tulsa just 0:55 to answer the ECU score as the Hurricane went 79 yards in three plays. Evans connected on a season-long 64-yard pass play to Josh Atkinson to put Tulsa ahead 38-17 following the PAT with 6:01 left in the third quarter.

An apparent ECU reception and fumble recovery by Tulsa was ruled an incomplete pass early in the fourth quarter. The next play saw the Pirates' Minshaw complete a 43-yard pass to Zay Jones, and a Tulsa penalty on that play put the Pirates at the Tulsa 13-yard line. However, the Hurricane defense turned in another outstanding stand, stopping the Pirates on 4^th-and-goal from the one-yard line as Linscott sacked Minshaw for a 14-yard loss.

Brewer scored his only TD of the game on a four-yard run with 1:38 left in the contest, putting Tulsa ahead 45-17. ECU went 54 yards in eight plays and just one minute as a 10-yard Minshaw pass to Quay Johnson with 0:24 to play made the final score 45-24.

Tulsa opened the game with an 84-yard drive that saw Flanders break through the line and go 22 yards for a 7-0 lead at the 11:57 mark. After holding the Pirates to 19 yards on five plays, the Tulsa offense took over at its own 24-yard line and went 76 yards in 10 plays for a 14-0 lead, as Evans threw the final 14 yards to Lucas.

On the subsequent possession, East Carolina responded with a five-play, 69-yard drive in 1:55 for their first score, cutting the Tulsa lead to 14-7 at the 4:41 mark of the first quarter.

The Hurricane added three points on a 41-yard Redford Jones field goal, capping a 54-yard, 10-play drive, to put the home team ahead 17-7 with 6:10 left before halftime. Tulsa added seven points with 0:24 remaining to take a 24-7 lead into halftime, as the Hurricane marched 80 yards in 13 plays for the score. Evans threw the final three yards of the possession to Atkinson for the touchdown.

At the intermission, Tulsa had 300 total yards on 58 plays, while holding the Pirates to 120 yards on 33 plays. Flanders gained 112 first-half yards on the ground, while surpassing the 1,000-yard mark for the season. Evans completed 15-of-27 passes for 133 yards and two TDs in the first half.

The Golden Hurricane travels to Annapolis, Maryland next Saturday to face the Navy Midshipmen at 12 noon (ET)/11 am (CT). The game will be aired on CBS Sports Network