Tulsa Tames Tigers 81-71 Behind Etou’s Double-Double

Wednesday, January 11

7 p.m.

Tulsa

8-7 (2-1AAC)

Memphis

12-5 (2-2AAC)

Memphis

Tulsa

Tulsa Tames Tigers 81-71 Behind Etou’s Double-Double

1/11/2017 11:18:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Don Tomkalski

BOX SCORE PDF I BOX SCORE HTML I POST-GAME QUOTES I VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS I PRESS CONFERENCE I PHOTO GALLERY I SEASON STATS

Tulsa captured an 81-71 win over the Memphis Tigers on Wednesday night at the Donald W. Reynolds Center behind Junior Etou's career-high performance of 23 points and 13 rebounds. It was Etou's third double-double of the season as the Golden Hurricane improved to 8-7 overall and 2-1 in the American Athletic Conference.

After Memphis' Dedric Lawson tied the score at 69 with 2:32 on the game clock, the Hurricane scored the next 12 points to take an 81-69 lead with seconds to play. T.K. Edogi's dunk off of a rebound with 2:02 on the clock gave the Hurricane a 71-69 lead and ignited Tulsa's scoring barrage in the last two minutes.

A layup and free throw by Etou put Tulsa ahead 74-69, then the Hurricane connected on 7-of-8 free throws in the final 1:08 to take its largest lead of the game at 12 points. After starting out the second half just 2-of-13 from the field, the Hurricane finished the half connecting on seven of their final 11 shots.

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Sterling Taplin added career-highs of 17 points and six assists to pace the Hurricane, while the Tigers' Lawson led all scorers with 26 points and Jeremiah Martin added 20 points.

The Hurricane spoiled the return of Tubby Smith, who coached Tulsa from 1991-92 to 1994-95, as his Memphis Tigers fell to 12-5 overall and 2-2 in the league.

The Hurricane bench out-scored Memphis, 26-7, while also totaling a wide margin in second-chance points at 18-to-3 and a 41-fo-29 edge in rebounds. For the fourth straight game, Tulsa shot over 80-percent from the free throw line, as the Hurricane made 25-of-30 freebies.

Leading by seven at halftime, Tulsa started the second half just 2-of-9 from the field in the first eight minutes, while the Tigers shot 50-percent on 5-of-10 field goals to narrow its deficit to three points, 52-49, at the 12:55 mark.

Memphis took its first lead of the second half at 55-54 with 10:30 left to play as Tulsa's shooting drought continued. Corey Henderson's acrobatic layup at the 7:42 mark that also drew a foul shot was just Tulsa's third made field goal on 15 attempts in the second half. The three-point play was Tulsa's first field goal since the 16:41 mark as it put Tulsa ahead 60-57.

The Tigers retook the lead at the 5:44 mark and tied its largest lead of three points, 66-63, with 5:09 on the game clock. Tulsa scored the next four points to take a 67-66 lead before Memphis tied it at 67 and again at 69. The Hurricane then closed out the game by scoring the next 12 points.

Tulsa opened the game by taking a 4-0 lead and holding the advantage until Memphis tied the contest at 24 with 9:24 remaining in the first half. The Tigers took their first lead at 26-24 on a Markel Crawford layup at the 8:42 mark. The lead changed hands four more times before Etou's three-pointer with 1:56 to play put Tulsa back on top, 36-34, for the remainder of the first half

Etou's trey was part of a 10-0 Tulsa run to put the Hurricane ahead 43-34 with 0:36 to play, before the Tigers scored with 0:08 on the clock, making the halftime score 43-36.

Etou led Tulsa with 11 points and 8 rebounds in the first 20 minutes, as the Hurricane shot 44-percent from the field and 40-percent from three-point range, while also holding a 25-15 edge in rebounding. Memphis' Lawson and Martin led the Tigers with 12 and 11 first-half points, respectively.

Tulsa goes on the road this Saturday (Jan. 14) to face the Temple Owls for an afternoon game at 3:00 p.m. (CT) and then returns home next Wednesday, Jan. 18, to host the Tulane Green Wave at 6:30 p.m.

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