Tulsa
Houston
TULSA MOVES TO SEMIFINALS WITH 59-51 WIN OVER HOUSTON
3/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 13, 2015
Notes | Box Score | Postgame Quotes
Hartford, CT - The No. 2-seeded Tulsa Golden Hurricane outlasted the No. 10-seed Houston Cougars to claim a 59-51 victory in quarterfinal action of the American Athletic Conference Tournament Friday night at the XL Center. Tulsa improved to 22-9 on the season, while Houston closed out the year with a 13-9 mark.
Tulsa will be back in action Saturday at 5:00 pm (ET)/4:00 pm (CT) against the winner of the Cincinnati-UConn game, which was played following the Tulsa-Houston contest.
All eight Tulsa players scored in the victory as Shaquille Harrison netted 14 points, nine in the second half, and added team-highs of nine rebounds, four assists and four steals in 36 minutes. James Woodard added 10 points for the Hurricane. Devonta Pollard led Houston with 14 points and nine rebounds and Cavon Baker added 11 points.
"Obviously, it was a tough win for us tonight. We got off to a good start in the first 10 minutes of the game, then I thought we took our foot off the pedal a little bit and we turned the ball over, allowing Houston to gain confidence," said Tulsa Head Coach Frank Haith.
Tulsa led at the intermission 28-24 after jumping out to a 21-8 lead, but Houston opened up the second half on a 9-2 run to take a 35-30 lead with 13:26 remaining in the game. Tulsa responded with a 7-1 run of its own to re-take the lead at 37-36 with 10:08 left on the clock.
From that point, the Hurricane out-scored the Cougars 22-15 the rest of the second half. Harrison scored two quick baskets off a steal and blocked shot to take a 41-36 lead at the 9:34 mark. Houston's next five baskets were all three-pointers, as the Cougars final trey by LeRon Barnes at the 3:10 mark brought Houston to within three-points, 54-51.
Tulsa shut down the Cougars in the final three minutes, while increasing its three-point lead to a final margin of eight points.
The Hurricane out-scored Houston in the paint in the final 20 minutes, 18-4, while Houston knocked down 6-of-18 three-pointers after hitting just 1-of-9 treys in the first half.
Tulsa jumped out to a 5-0 lead on a dunk to start the game by Brandon Swannegan and a three-pointer from the left corner by Harrison. TK Edogi's layup at the 13:47 mark gave the Hurricane a 10-4 advantage, starting an 11-2 run that put Tulsa ahead 19-6 with 9:19 left on the first-half clock.
Tulsa made it 24-10 when Marquel Curtis hit the first of two free throws at the 5:56 mark. But, from that point, the Cougars out-scored the Hurricane 14-4 the remainder of the first half.
Shaquille Harrison's driving layup at the buzzer gave Tulsa a 28-24 halftime lead.
All eight Tulsa players scored in the first half, while Edogi led the Hurricane in the first 20 minutes with six points. Harrison, Woodard and Wright had five points apiece for Tulsa, while Houston's Pollard had a game-high 12 points.
Tulsa shot 44 percent from the field in the first half, while Houston shot 38 percent. The Hurricane held a 20-13 edge in rebounds, while Houston had a 9-0 advantage on fast-break points.
Follow Tulsa Men's Basketball on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/TUMBasketball and Instagram at TulsaMBasketball. Follow Tulsa Athletics on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/TulsaHurricane and Facebook at www.facebook.com/TulsaHurricane. For all news and information about Tulsa Basketball, go to www.TulsaHurricane.com.
