Tulsa Falls to No. 6 Nevada on Thursday, 96-86

Thursday, November 22

Las Vegas, Nev.

3 PM

Tulsa

4-1

Nevada

5-0

Tulsa

Nevada

Photo by: Dave Crenshaw

Tulsa Falls to No. 6 Nevada on Thursday, 96-86

11/22/2018 5:50:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Box Score (.pdf) | Season Stats (.pdf)

LAS VEGAS — Sterling Taplin scored a season-high 22 points and Tulsa shot a season-high 53.7-percent, but No. 6 Nevada made 11 3-pointers and 35 free throws on its way to a 96-86 win on Thursday at the Continental Tire Las Vegas Holiday Invitational.

Taplin went 7-for-11 from the field, including a pair of triples, and a perfect 6-for-6 at the free-throw line to pace the Golden Hurricane (4-1). He also added seven assists to help Tulsa to one of its best offensive showings of the season against the Wolf Pack (5-0), who came in allowing opponents to score just 61.2 ppg and shoot 36.4-percent.

Taplin was joined in double-figures by Martins Igbanu (14 points) and Curran Scott (10 points), while Simon Falokun also contributed a season-high 10 points.

Jordan Carolina led the Wolf Pack (5-0) with 25 points and 11 rebounds. Caleb Martin hit all 10 of his free throws to offset a 4-for-16 shooting effort on his way to 21 points, while Jazz Johnson hit 5 3-pointers off the bench for 20 points.

Nevada shot 43.9-percent from the floor and attempted 15 more free throws than the Golden Hurricane.

Tulsa started the game with three straight baskets in the paint, including an old-fashioned three-point play from Simon Falokun. However, the Wolf Pack began to stretch their lead behind the arc and at the free-throw line.

An 8-0 spurt that included back-to-back triples from Nevada gave the designated home team a 30-18 lead. Taplin scored eight of his 10 first-half points in the final seven minutes of the half to provide the offense for TU.

But Nevada kept its lead thanks to its six 3-pointers and a five-point advantage at the free-throw line, as Tulsa was whistled for 12 fouls in the opening 20 minutes. The Wolf Pack took a 46-35 lead to intermission.

Out of the break, Tulsa quickly sliced the lead down to six points, 46-40, on a layup from Chris Barnes before a 3-pointer by Taplin. But the Wolf Pack would recover and score the next seven points to regain the double-digit cushion.

Tulsa was within eight with 13:40 to play following a trey by DaQuan Jeffries, but Nevada answered with a 14-4 run to extend its lead. The Hurricane trimmed the deficit to nine, 88-79, on Jeffries' thunderous dunk with 3:08 remaining, but it could get no closer.

The Wolf Pack hit six free throws down the stretch to ice the game and claim the 96-86 victory.

Tulsa will close play at the Continental Tire Las Vegas Holiday Invitational when it faces Southern Illinois (2-3) at 11:30 p.m. (CT) on Friday, Nov. 23. The game can be seen nationally on FS1.

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