Tulsa Comeback Falls Short in 74-65 Setback to SMU on Thursday Night

Thursday, March 14

Memphis, Tenn.

7 PM

Tulsa

18-14

SMU

15-16

SMU

Tulsa

Photo by: Ben Solomon

Tulsa Comeback Falls Short in 74-65 Setback to SMU on Thursday Night

3/14/2019 9:48:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Box Score | Season Stats

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Jeriah Horne scored 19 points to lead a second-half Tulsa comeback, but SMU held on for a 74-65 win on Thursday night in the first round of the American Athletic Conference Championship at FedExForum.

Horne went 8-of-18 from the field and hit three 3-pointers for the seventh-seeded Golden Hurricane (18-14), while senior DaQuan Jeffries added 15 points and a career-high six assists. Lawson Korita contributed a career-best 12 rebounds to help the Hurricane hold a 37-36 edge on the glass.

Tulsa shared the ball well with 21 assists on its 24 baskets and it finished with 32 points in the paint.

With the win, the 10th-seeded Mustangs (15-16) advance to face No. 2-seed Cincinnati (25-6) at 6 p.m. on Friday, March 15 in the quarterfinals. SMU was led by a game-high 27 points from Jahmal McMurray.

SMU shot 61.5-percent in the opening half and used a 23-5 run early in the first half to take the lead. The contest had a back-and-forth start with four lead-changes in the first four minutes before SMU's run gave it a 29-14 advantage.

Jeffries, who had 10 points and three assists in the first period, sparked a 9-0 Tulsa run that brought the Hurricane within 29-23 with 8:11 to go before halftime. The senior hit a 3-pointer before his steal and thunderous dunk. Jeriah Horne then hit a trey before Sterling Taplin closed the run with a free throw.

But the Mustangs stayed hot from the field and they would outscore the Hurricane 18-10 the rest of the half to take a 47-33 cushion to intermission.

Tulsa held SMU to just 1-of-12 shooting to start the second half, but experienced its own shooting woes and was unable to trim the deficit. The Mustangs led 53-33 with 13:09 left before Horne's triple got the TU offense going.

The Hurricane would go on a 13-3 to pull within 58-49 with 7:46 remaining. Igbanu scored twice down low during the run, which also featured a three-point play from Jeffries and a layup by Taplin.

TU went on a 9-2 spurt minutes later and Horne's 3-pointer with 2:44 left got the Hurricane within 66-60. However, it would get no closer as McMurray responded with a jumper and 3-pointer of his own to help seal the victory for the Mustangs.

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