Tulsa Outlasts UConn for 61-59 OT Win

Saturday, December 31

1 p.m.

Tulsa

7-6 (1-0AAC)

UConn

5-8 (0-2AAC)

OT 1

UCONN

Tulsa

Tulsa Outlasts UConn for 61-59 OT Win

12/31/2016 6:01:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Don Tomkalski

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Pat Birt scored nine of Tulsa's final 13 points, including three in overtime, as the Golden Hurricane pulled out a 61-59 win over the UConn Huskies to close out 2016 in a New Years Eve day game at the Donald W. Reynolds Center Saturday in front of 4,525 fans.

There were 13 lead changes and 10 ties in this American Athletic Conference game that saw Tulsa improve to 7-6 overall and take its' opening game of league play, while UConn fell to 5-8 and 0-2 in AAC play. The win was Frank Haith's 50^th as the Hurricane head coach.

Birt and Sterling Taplin shared Tulsa's scoring honors with 13 points apiece, while Taplin added six assists and two steals. Once again, the Hurricane bench outscored the opposition, 15-6, as Martins Igbanu led the way with eight points and a team-high seven rebounds. For the Huskies, Jalen Adams, who returned to the lineup after missing one game with a concussion, had a game-high 18 points and also had six assists.

"It's conference play," said Haith. "We had an intense ball game and I thought our guys played with great energy throughout the game. I am really proud of how we competed and how we gave ourselves a chance to win. We had great resolve, even when we got down five there late in the game. I was really proud of how we stuck together and finished out the game."

After shooting over 50-percent from the field and 60-percent from three-point range in the first half, UConn cooled down in the second half and ended the game converting 40-percent from the field and 32-percent from three-point range. The Huskies were 2-of-13 from three-point range in the final 25 minutes. Tulsa forced 17 UConn turnovers and had a 16-2 advantage over the Huskies in points off turnovers.

After going 0-of-6 from three-point range, Birt knocked down his first three-pointer at with 3:14 to play, breaking a 48-48 tie to put the Hurricane ahead 51-48. UConn rattled off six straight points, all from Adams, to move ahead 54-51, but Birt connected on his second straight trey to knot the score at 54 with 1:33 to play. The two Birt three-pointers

Adams knocked down his eighth straight point with 1:07 on the game clock to put the Huskies back ahead 56-54. Amida Brimah blocked a Junior Etou shot at 0:39, but UConn's Adams missed a layup at the other end. Tulsa's Taplin grabbed the rebound and found Jaleel Wheeler ahead for a game-tying driving layup with :07 to play.

UConn's attempt at the end of regulation on another Adams layup missed, thus sending the game in overtime.

To start the extra period, Christian Vital hit a three-pointer for a Huskies' 59-56 lead, but Taplin wasted little time in pulling Tulsa to within one point, 59-58, at the 2:30 mark on a layup. Birt put Tulsa ahead 60-59 at the 1:18 mark, and with 0:03 left hit one-of-two free throws for a 61-59 lead. Adams' good look at a three-pointer missed as time expired, thus preserving Tulsa's two-point victory.

In the first half, each teams biggest lead was three points as Tulsa's largest lead came at the 13:27 mark when Sterling Taplin's trey made the score 12-9. The Huskies led by three points twice in the first five minutes, and again with 5:47 remaining, 23-20, and again with 3:06 left on the game clock at 28-25.

Trailing 23-20, the Hurricane scored the next five points for a 25-23 lead at the 4:32 mark, but went the rest of the way without a field goal. UConn re-took the lead at 28-25, then Taplin knocked down two free throws with 0:42 remaining to make the score 28-27, and it remained that way until halftime. Tulsa held UConn scoreless in the final three minutes of the half

UConn shot a sizzling 65-percent from the field through a good portion of the first 15 minutes, and ended the half at 52-percent overall and 67-percent from three-point range on 4-of-6. The two teams exchanged the lead 10 times with the score being tied five times through the first 20 minutes.

Tulsa connected on just 37-percent of its field goals in the first half, and hit just 3-of-14 treys for 21.4 percent.

Tulsa goes on the road for a Wednesday night (Jan. 4) game at Houston (11-3, 2-0 AAC), and returns home a week later to face the Memphis Tigers, led by former Golden Hurricane head coach Tubby Smith, on Wednesday, Jan. 11, with a 7:00 p.m. tip time. The Houston game can be seen on ESPNU at 8:00 p.m.

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