Tulsa Falls at No. 22 Cincinnati, 76-57

Saturday, January 2

Cincinnati, Ohio

3:00 p.m.

Tulsa

8-6, 0-2

Cincinnati

11-4, 1-1

Tulsa

Cincinnati

Photo by: Jay Taylor

Tulsa Falls at No. 22 Cincinnati, 76-57

1/2/2016 6:39:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Eric Hollier

Box Score

CINCINNATI, Ohio – Shaquille Harrison scored 21 points, but it was not enough as the Tulsa basketball team fell, 76-57, at No. 22 Cincinnati in American Athletic Conference action Saturday afternoon at Fifth Third Arena.

The Golden Hurricane fell to 8-6 overall and 0-2 in The American, while the Bearcats improved to 11-4 overall and 1-1 in league play. Pat Birt tallied 13 points and led the Hurricane with six rebounds, while Harrison added six assists. Farad Cobb scored 21 points to lead Cincinnati.

"They physically whipped us," Tulsa Head Coach Frank Haith said. "They were just more aggressive and played with great toughness. They set the tone early in the game the way they competed and how hard they went at it on both ends of the court. I think they were really aggressive on the defensive end and really aggressive on the offensive end how they attacked and got offensive rebounds."

The Hurricane shot 33 percent from the field (18-of-54), made 4-of-21 3-pointers and 17-of-25 free throws. Cincinnati shot 46 percent from the field (27-of-59), made 12-of-23 3-pointers and 10-of-15 foul shots. The Bearcats held a 39-31 rebounding advantage and tallied 20 assists, 13 turnovers and 11 steals, forcing 14 TU turnovers.

The Bearcats started the game with an 18-2 run in the first nine minutes. Tulsa was held to 2-of-20 from the field for the first 16:00 of the game, but connected on 14 free throws during that span. Harrison converted a layup with 3:55 left in the half, and TU made four of its final seven field goal attempts in the period. UC built a 35-11 lead at the 6:09 mark, but the Hurricane cut it to 14 by the intermission, trailing 42-28.

Tulsa cut the deficit to 47-35 by the 16:17 mark of the second half, scoring on a layup by Rashad Smith and five points in a row by Woodard, including a 3-pointer. Smith finished with seven points, four rebounds and two blocks, and Woodard ended the game with nine points and a pair of steals. Cincinnati responded to the spurt with a 15-3 run to make the score, 62-38, with 10:49 to play.

Smith then scored five straight points to cut it to 62-43, but Cincinnati brought the lead back to 23 points, and Tulsa would get no closer until the final two minutes. Marquel Curtis and Sterling Taplin made layups, and Pat Birt converted a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to 16 points, 73-57, with 1:21 left, but a three by Quadri Moore made the final, 76-57.

Harrison had 15 points in the first half to lead all scorers at the break, making a 3-pointer and 8-of-9 foul shots. TU shot just 22 percent in the first half (6-for-27), while Cincinnati shot 48 percent (14-of-29).

Harrison put up 20 points for the seventh time this season, and his six assists matched his season high, set at Missouri State on Dec. 13.

"When you play a team the way Cincinnati played today with their toughness, grittiness and how hard they compete, you have to have that in your DNA and he has it in his DNA," Haith said of Harrison's performance. "He is a tough kid mentally and physically. He had the right approach today, and that is why he had success today."

The Golden Hurricane returns home to face East Carolina at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.

"We have to get better. In league play, this is two of 18 (games), so it's a long season and we have to regroup," Haith said. "We have to understand that we took a good old backyard whooping today and we have to get ourselves back to understanding that we have to have a different mentality when we lace them up again, which is soon against East Carolina. We have to get ready for the next one. But, give a lot of credit to Cincinnati; they came out and really just played well today and physically took it to us."

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