Men's Basketball Falls to Jacksonville State, 84-73

Friday, November 11

7 p.m.

Tulsa

0-1

Jacksonville State

1-0

Team	1	2	F
Jacksonville State	38	46	84
Tulsa	28	45	73

Photo by: Dave Crenshaw

Men's Basketball Falls to Jacksonville State, 84-73

11/11/2016 11:12:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Eric Hollier

Box Score | HTML Box Score

TULSA, Okla. – Junior Etou scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, but the Tulsa basketball team fell to Jacksonville State, 84-73, in the season opener Friday evening at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.

Etou, a junior forward playing in his first game at Tulsa after transferring from Rutgers, also led the Golden Hurricane with four 3-pointers, and finished 6-of-9 on field goals. He was one of seven players to make their debut Friday for TU. Junior college transfer guard Corey Henderson Jr. scored 15 points with three treys and added three assists, and freshman forward Martins Igbanu tallied 10 points and nine rebounds.

Jacksonville State had four players in double figures, led by guard Malcolm Drumwright, who scored 20 points. Guard Greg Tucker added 17 points and Norbertas Giga added 13 points. JSU shot 56 percent from the field and made nine 3-pointers. Tulsa shot 40 percent from the field, made 17-of-29 free throws, and outrebounded the Gamecocks, 36-31.

"We're a young team, and we knew there would be some tough moments," Tulsa Head Coach Frank Haith said. "They're a veteran team – they have 10 junior college players – and they were quicker than us. We missed too many shots around the basket, and we missed free throws. I think this team is capable of making free throws, but maybe it was first-game jitters. We have to be able to defend better. They executed very well, being a veteran team. We'll get better. It's early in the year, and I think this team will get better."

Tulsa opened a 9-6 lead at the 16:56 mark on a 3-pointer by Etou, and led 11-8 after a layup by senior guard Pat Birt. Jacksonville State, however, went on a 10-0 run to take an 18-11 lead at the 12:51 mark. The Hurricane cut it to 22-17 on a jumper by Etou with 8:58 left in the half, but the Gamecocks extended their lead to 27-18 with 6:57 to play on a layup by the seven-footer Giga.

A 3-pointer by Etou cut the deficit to 27-23 at the 5:51 mark. TU could not pull closer, as JSU took a 12-point lead in the final minute, and led 38-28 at the half.

Early in the second half, junior forward TK Edogi and sophomore guard Sterling Taplin made jumpers to cut the deficit to 40-32. The Gamecocks then scored seven of the next eight to extend their lead to 47-33, and maintained a double-digit lead for most of the second half. A 3-pointer by Birt made the score 60-51 at the 10:00 mark, but JSU scored 10 straight to take its largest lead at 70-51.

Henderson knocked down a 3-pointer with 2:18 remaining to cut the deficit to 75-66, but Tulsa was only able to pull within 78-70 on a pair of free throws by Henderson with 0:56 to play. Another trey by Henderson with 0:17 left made the score 82-73, but a basket by JSU in the closing seconds made the final margin, 84-73.

Eight different players scored points for Tulsa Friday, and five of those players appeared in their first game at TU, including Etou, Henderson and Igbanu. Sophomore forward Geno Artison scored eight points and knocked down a pair of 3-pointers, and freshman guard Travis Atson added three points and three rebounds. Senior guard Pat Birt led the Hurricane with four assists, and put up seven points.

"This is just a young team that's going to have some bumps and bruises early," Haith said. "Those guys need court time. I didn't expect us to be a finished product here, early in the year. When you have 10 new guys, it's going to take some time. We haven't had two of our important guys with us (on the court) in Jaleel (Wheeler) and Corey. I think when you put those things in there, and you're playing an older team, like Jacksonville State, those guys can play. I said this to our guys – 'Now you know. Every time you lace them up, you're going to play guys that can play'."

The Golden Hurricane returns to action Wednesday, Nov. 16 at Wichita State. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m., and the game will be available on ESPN3.

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