Tulsa
Auburn
Tulsa Falls in NIT Second-Round at Auburn, 74-55
3/20/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 20, 2009
Box Score 
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AUBURN, Ala. - Justin Hurtt scored 16 points and Ben Uzoh put up 13, but The University of Tulsa basketball team fell, 74-55, at Auburn in the second round of the NIT Friday evening at Beard-Eaves Coliseum.
The Golden Hurricane complete the 2008-09 season with a 25-11 record, advancing to the postseason for the second straight season. Wojcik is the first coach in TU history to post consecutive 25-win seasons. Auburn (24-11) advances to the NIT quarterfinal round.
"Auburn is a quick team. We talked about it before the game, and we talked about adjusting to the quickness of the game," Tulsa Head Coach Doug Wojcik said. "We didn't do a great job of that. They did a great job - we turned it over 18 times. We shot 6-of-12 from the free throw line. You're just not going to win a game on the road (like that). Give them all the credit in the world."
Tulsa had 18 turnovers in the game, due in part to Auburn's quickness and ability to cut into the Hurricane's passing lanes and deflect the ball. Auburn scored 23 points off turnovers, to Tulsa's 10, and outscored TU in bench points, 21-13. The Hurricane out-rebounded the Tigers 45-43, including a 12-9 advantage on the offensive boards and tallied 13 second chance points against Auburn's five.
Hurtt scored Tulsa's first 10 points of the game, and had 12 by halftime to lead all scorers in the first period, and finished the game with 16 total. Both teams suffered foul trouble in the first half, as the Golden Hurricane's Steven Idlet had three fouls and Uzoh, Hurtt and Jerome Jordan each had two fouls. Auburn also had a player with three fouls and two more with two fouls apiece. TU and Auburn combined for 40 in the game.
Tulsa went into the locker room at halftime trailing 33-22, but the Tigers went on a 14-7 run in the first seven minutes of the second half to push the lead to 18 points at 47-29. Uzoh scored his first points of the contest with 18:01 left in the game on a three-pointer, the followed with a layup.
The Hurricane only got as close as 13 points for the next 14 minutes, and found itself down 56-43 with 6:18 remaining. Auburn got a basket and a free throw to lead by 16, but then Glenn Andrews made 1-of-2 free throws and hit a three-pointer 20 seconds later, followed by an Uzoh layup to cut the lead to 10 points with 4:18 left in the game.
When it appeared as though Tulsa could finally make a run and close the gap with a defensive stop and a basket on the offensive end, a foul led into the final media timeout with 3:56 remaining. After the break, Auburn made 1-of-2 free throws, but got the rebound and immediately hit a three-pointer to push the lead back to 14 points.
From that point on, Tulsa could get no closer than 13 points, and Auburn took the game, 74-55.
All Tulsa men's basketball news and information can be found online at www.TulsaHurricane.com.
QUOTES FOLLOWING TULSA'S 74-55 NIT SECOND-ROUND LOSS AT AUBURN
TULSA HEAD COACH Doug Wojcik
Opening statement
"Auburn is a quick team. We talked about it before the game, and we talked about adjusting to the quickness of the game. We didn't do a great job of that. They did a great job - we turned it over 18 times. We shot 6-of-12 from the free throw line. You're just not going to win a game on the road (like that). Give them all the credit in the world. I thought we did a good job of getting (Korvotney) Barber in foul trouble and trying to control him a little bit. We did a real nice job on (Tay) Waller for the most part through the game. Reed played his normal floor game, and of course Frankie Sullivan hurt us in the first half. Their four-position - the power forward position - was really effective and we had a hard time guarding it. They're a very good team. Give credit to them. It just wasn't our night."
On if the quick turnaround and traveling had an effect on the team
"I'd like to think not, but how do you measure that quickness factor? I think maybe that is a little bit a part of that. I thought Ben played hard for the whole game. You're talking about 37 minutes against that quickness. I understand he had seven turnovers, but I can't be too harsh on him. When Reed's playing 32 (minutes), that's five minutes difference between the two of them. I don't think Jerome had a lot of pep in his step. I certainly don't want to use that as an excuse. They played well and they're a good team, and that's why they are the #1 seed."
SOPHOMORE GUARD Justin Hurtt
On what he takes from this season into the offseason
"I'll just get in the gym and really work on my game, all around - the ball-handling, the shooting, just everything. I will just try to be more consistent throughout the whole year, and work on doing the things I need to do for this team to win."
On how Auburn's quickness disrupted Tulsa's offense
"They're really quick team, overall. Coach talked about that a lot, especially in transition. They were quick with their hands on defense also, and that hurt us a little bit, with the turnovers and that led to a lot of transition points for them."
