Tulsa Downs California Baptist on Friday Afternoon, 82-79

Friday, November 16

Reynolds Center

12 PM

Tulsa

3-0

California Baptist

2-1

California Baptist

Tulsa

Photo by: Dave Crenshaw

Tulsa Downs California Baptist on Friday Afternoon, 82-79

11/16/2018 3:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Box Score (.pdf) | Season Stats (.pdf) | Postgame Press Conference

TULSA, Okla. — DaQuan Jeffries scored nine of his team-high 19 points in the final six minutes to help Tulsa rally and defeat California Baptist, 82-79, on Friday afternoon in the second annual Blackboards & Backboards Educational Day game at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.

Jeffries went 4-for-8 from the field and hit all nine of his free throws to propel the Golden Hurricane to its second 3-0 start under head coach Frank Haith. Martins Igbanu scored 18 points as TU held a 40-26 advantage in the paint and Elijah Joiner came off the bench to add 10 points.

The Hurricane shot 46.2-percent and 75-percent (30-for-40) at the free-throw line as it also began play in the Continental Tire Las Vegas Holiday Invitational. TU will host Little Rock (2-0) at 7 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 19 before heading to Las Vegas for matchups on Nov. 22-23.

The contest featured 10 ties and nine lead changes and was watched by nearly 3,500 local school children thanks to a generous donation by Gary and Anita Rathburn.

Meanwhile, Milan Acquaah posted a double-double with 20 points on 7-of-24 shooting to go along with 11 assists for the Lancers (2-1). CBU shot 39.7-percent from the field, but kept the game close with 13 3-pointers, while it attempted a TU opponent-record 42 triples.

"It's unique to face a team that takes 42 3s and with that comes a lot of long rebounds, so I think it was a good opportunity for us to play someone like that and we can learn from it," head coach Frank Haith said. "I'm very encouraged that we gritted it out, made some toughness plays and found a way to win the ballgame."

An old fashioned three-point play from Zach Pirog with 5:19 to play broke a 69-all tie before Jeffries and Joiner helped the Hurricane outscore California Baptist 13-7 the rest of the way for the win.

Jeffries answered right away with a 3-pointer before knocking down a pair of free throws. Joiner also hit two at the charity stripe to pull within 77-76 and TU took the lead on Jeffries's offensive rebound and layup made it 78-77 with 96 seconds remaining.

The Lancers would tie it up at the free throw line with 1:25 left, but Joiner and Jeffries each made free throws down the stretch, while the Hurricane defense came up with enough stops to hold on for the 82-79 win.

The Hurricane got off to a quick start in the first half with a 10-2 spurt out of the gate, but CBU recovered with the help of eight 3-pointers in the opening 20 minutes. TU held a 28-20 advantage with eight minutes to go in the half, but Mike Henn scored 13 of his 15 points off the bench in the first half to give the visitors a 43-42 lead at halftime.

The Lancers led by as much as five points, 58-53, with 12:49 to play before a quick 5-0 spurt from TU knotted the score. CBU answered the Tulsa runs and neither team led by more than a basket in the final 12-and-a-half minutes.

Monday night's game against Little Rock is Buck Night at the Reynolds Center. Fans can receive $5 upper-bowl tickets and then enjoy $2 sodas and $1 popcorn.

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