Igbanu’s Big Second Half Sends Tulsa Past Dayton on Sunday, 72-67

Sunday, December 16

Uncasville, Conn.

2:30 PM

Tulsa

9-3

Dayton

5-5

Tulsa

Dayton

Photo by: Kevin Reilly

Igbanu’s Big Second Half Sends Tulsa Past Dayton on Sunday, 72-67

12/16/2018 5:10:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

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

UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Martins Igbanu scored 14 of his team-high 17 points in the second half as Tulsa knocked off Dayton on Sunday at the Basketball Hall of Fame Holiday Showcase presented by Citi.

Igbanu went 6-of-10 from the floor and hit five of his six free throws for the Golden Hurricane (9-3), who picked up its first win away from the Reynolds Center this season. With the win, TU also reached nine non-conference victories before league play for the first time since 2009-10 and continued the best start under head coach Frank Haith.

DaQuan Jeffries added 16 points and six rebounds, while Jeriah Horne came off the bench to add 10 points as Tulsa shot a season-high 54.3-percent for the game, including 66.7-percent (14-of-21) over the final 20 minutes.

Josh Cunningham paced four players in double-figures for the Flyers (5-5) with 15 points. Jalen Crutcher hit four 3-pointers on his way to 14 points.

After the teams went into the locker room tied at 30, Dayton grabbed a 41-37 lead in the opening minutes of the second half after a Crutcher triple.

It would prove to be the Flyers' largest lead of the day as Tulsa responded with a 14-2 run to take the lead for good.

Zeke Moore started the run with a jumper before Igbanu went to work inside with six straight points. Horne drilled his second 3-pointer of the afternoon and Moore closed the spurt with trey and a 51-43 cushion.

Dayton cut the Tulsa lead to three points four times over the final eight minutes, but each time the Hurricane came up with another bucket to keep the Flyers at arm's length.

Sterling Taplin's three-point play with 3:41 left gave Tulsa a 66-56 advantage. However, Dayton ripped off a 7-0 run and had a chance to tie it with less than a minute to go. The Tulsa defense stood tall and the Flyers were forced to foul.

Curran Scott made all four of his freebies in the final 11 seconds to seal the 72-67 victory.

Tulsa started the game fast as Jeffries had eight of the team's first 10 points, while a 9-1 run gave the Hurricane a 15-6 advantage. The TU defense did the job early on the Flyers, who connected on just two of their first 11 shots.

Tulsa stretched the lead to 21-9 following back-to-back 3-pointers from Jeriah Horne and Sterling Taplin. Minutes later, the squad had its largest lead of the half, 27-13, after a pair of dunks by Jeffries.

However, Dayton caught fire and outscored the Hurricane 17-3 over the final six minutes of the half to knot the score 30-all at intermission.

Tulsa will close non-conference play at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 22 when it takes on crosstown rival Oral Roberts (4-9) at the Mabee Center in the annual Mayor's Cup matchup.

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