20 For 20: Tulsa Claims CBI Championship
12/4/2017 2:03:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Our 20 For 20: Two Decades of Reynolds Center Magic series continues this week with a look back at TU's College Basketball Invitational Championship with a 70-64 win over Bradley on April 4, 2008.
A run to the championship game of the Conference USA Tournament gave the Tulsa men's basketball team 20 wins and provided momentum for the squad as it entered the inaugural College Basketball Invitational. With the No. 2 seed in the South Bracket, Tulsa defeated Miami (Ohio), Utah and Houston at the Reynolds Center to make the best-of-three finals against Bradley. As the higher seed, Tulsa hosted the Braves and claimed a 73-68 win in the first game, but saw Bradley defend its home floor with an 83-74 victory two nights later that set up a winner-take-all championship game on April 4 at the Reynolds Center.
Bradley came out on fire in the finale and momentarily quieted a sellout crowd as the visitors jumped out to a 16-2 lead in the first five-and-a-half minutes. Rod Earls helped spark a 10-0 TU run to get back in the game, but the Braves led throughout the opening half and took a 34-28 lead to halftime.
The TU defense buckled down in the second half, holding Bradley to just 29.3-percent shooting over the final 20 minutes. The Hurricane took its first lead on a jumper from Ben Uzoh with 14:45 to play and it would be the first of 13 lead-changes in a tight second half. With 2:25 left, Earls made his fourth 3-pointer of the contest to reclaim a 60-59 advantage for TU and the Hurricane would not trail the rest of the night. Tulsa hit 10 free throws in the final two minutes to seal the 70-64 victory and claim the first CBI Championship.
Uzoh led the way with 17 points, while Earls and Calvin Walls each added 14 points. Jerome Jordan was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player and he neared a triple-double with 11 points, 12 rebounds and eight blocks. The win gave Tulsa its third postseason national tournament title after winning the National Invitational Tournament in 1981 and 2001.
Click on the video below for highlights and Bruce Howard's radio call from the game. For a look back at all of our Reynolds Center moments so far, click here.
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