Tulsa Falls At Oklahoma State on Tuesday Night, 71-59

Tuesday, December 19

Stillwater, Okla.

8 PM

Tulsa

7-5

Oklahoma State

9-2

Tulsa

Oklahoma State

Photo by: Dave Crenshaw

Tulsa Falls At Oklahoma State on Tuesday Night, 71-59

12/19/2017 10:49:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Box Score (.pdf) | Season Stats (.pdf) | Postgame Press Conference

STILLWATER, Okla. — Junior Etou scored a game-high 18 points, but Oklahoma State went on a late 8-0 run to pull away for a 71-59 victory on Tuesday night at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

Etou went 5-of-12 from the floor and 7-of-8 at the free-throw line to pace the Golden Hurricane (7-5), who closed out non-conference play. The senior also contributed a team-high six rebounds. Sterling Taplin added 14 points and three assists, while Corey Henderson Jr. chipped in eight points.

"I thought our guys competed hard," head coach Frank Haith said. "I thought we battled some adversity out there tonight. I thought our guys were tough throughout until the last five minutes of the game. I thought our defense let up and give (Kendall) Smith credit, he made some big shots. Obviously our defense was outstanding in the first half. I thought we did a great job of guarding the three-point line. Thirty-five minutes of this game I thought we were right where we needed to be."

Meanwhile, Kendall Smith led the Cowboys (9-2) with 16 points, 13 of which came in the second half. Jeffrey Carroll finished with a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds and Oklahoma State shot 56.3-percent in the final 20 minutes after being limited to 35.3-percent in the first half.

After TU led for much of the first half, OSU broke a 28-all tie at halftime with a 10-2 run to start the second half. However, the Hurricane would recover and countered back with a 13-4 stretch of its own to reclaim a 43-42 lead with 13:13 remaining.

Etou started the run with a layup before Taplin drove inside for a bucket. Geno Artison then nailed his second 3-pointer of the game before Taplin and Curran Scott drilled treys to cap the spurt.

Scott broke a 44-all tie with 11:30 left on a drive to the basket for a layup, but OSU ripped off a 9-0 run for a 53-46 advantage and the home squad would not trail the rest of the night.

Henderson Jr. got Tulsa within four twice down the stretch, but each time OSU answered with a 3-pointer. Smith scored half of his 16 points in the final five minutes, including back-to-back triples to stop a TU rally.

TU pulled within 63-59 with 2:43 left only to watch the Cowboys finish the game on their 8-0 run to pull away for the 71-59 final.

Taplin and Etou combined for 21 of the team's 28 points in the first half and TU led for 16:19 of the opening period.

Taplin came out aggressive and knocked down the first two shots for the Hurricane before Etou drained a 3-pointer. After the Cowboys tied the game, 9-9, the Hurricane went on an 8-0 run to take control.

Taplin started the run with a jumper and 3-pointer before Elijah Joiner found Artison for a trey and 17-9 cushion. Minutes later, the lead would again get pushed to eight, 19-11, on a jumper from Jaleel Wheeler.

The Hurricane held Oklahoma State to just 26.7-percent shooting through the first 17 minutes of the half, but the Cowboys made their final four attempts to outscore TU 9-2 down the stretch and pull even, 28-28, at intermission.

Tulsa will open American Athletic Conference play at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 28, when it will host ECU (5-5) at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.

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