Tulsa Defeats UConn 79-75 in Overtime

Sunday, January 26

Hartford, Conn.

11 AM

Tulsa

14-6,6-1AAC

UConn

10-9,1-5AAC

OT 1

Tulsa

UConn

Photo by: Bill Powell

Tulsa Defeats UConn 79-75 in Overtime

1/26/2020 2:50:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Box Score | Season Stats

HARTFORD, Conn. – Tulsa converted 5-of-5 from the field and 8-of-10 from the free-throw line in overtime to defeat the UConn Huskies by a final score of 79-75 in front of 10,509 fans at the XL Center Sunday afternoon.

Martins Igbanu led the way for Tulsa with a career-high 28 points including 7 in overtime. He recorded his first double-double of the season grabbing 10 rebounds and also dished out 4 assists.

Along with Igbanu, four Hurricane players scored in double-figures with Darien Jackson and Brandon Rachal scoring 14 points apiece. Jeriah Horne scored 10 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for his second career double-double. Elijah Joiner put in 7 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists for the Hurricane, leading the team in assists for the 10th time this season.

With the win, Tulsa improved to 14-6 overall and 6-1 to grab first place in the American Athletic Conference. UConn falls to 10-9 and 1-5 in the AAC.

In all 14 of the Hurricane wins, Tulsa has now held its opponents under 40-percent in field goal percentage. The Hurricane held UConn to just 39.7 percent from the field and 27.3 percent from 3-point range. Tulsa out-rebounded the Huskies 42-34 and outscored UConn in the paint 42-32.

The Hurricane bench shined, scoring 46 of Tulsa's 79 points. Igbanu and Jackson led the bench attack combining for 42 points. The Huskies had 4 in double-figures led by James Bouknight who scored 16 points going 6-11 from the field. Akok Akok put in 13 points, 7 rebounds and 7 blocks, while Sidney Wilson had 12 points. Vital scored 11 all of which came in the second half and overtime.

"We knew this was going to be a game that we had to be play extremely well to win," said Tulsa Head Coach Frank Haith, "Our team did a great job of handling the adversity that comes with playing on the road."

Starting the second half, Tulsa extended their 5-point halftime lead to 9 three times. At the 13:30 mark in the second half, UConn went on a 12-0 run to recapture the lead for the first time since the 8:08 point of the first half. Igbanu and Jackson led the counter attack as the Hurricane went on a 7-2 run to take back the lead at 50-49.

With 19 seconds left in regulation, Igbanu missed the second of two free-throws, giving Tulsa a 61-58 lead. On the the Huskies possession, Jackson was called for a controversial foul on a three-point attempt by Christian Vital. Vital made all three from the charity stripe to tie the game sending it to overtime tied at 61-61.

Tulsa began overtime on a 6-0 run sparked by a Rachal layup, while he (5-6) and Igbanu (3-4) combined for all of Tulsa's free-throws in overtime, as the Hurricane outscored UConn in the extra period 18-14 for the victory.

"We rebounded the ball well and did a good job in execution, particularly in overtime," said Haith on Tulsa's execution, "Our guys bowed their backs in overtime and did some nice things."

There were 5 lead changes and five ties in the first 20 minutes of the contest. Tulsa took a 17-15 lead at the 7:12 mark when Reggie Jones knocked down a 3-pointer and added a free throw when fouled on the trey. After Jones' 4-point play gave Tulsa the lead back, the Hurricane did not surrender the lead the remainder of the half. A Joiner dunk with 2:22 left sparked a 7-2 run by the Hurricane for a 28-23 lead at halftime. The Hurricane shot 42-percent (10-24) from the field in the first half and converted 7-of-11 from the free-throw line.

Igabanu led the Hurricane with 8 first-half points and 4 rebounds, and Joiner totaled 5 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Horne scored 5 points and grabbed 4 rebounds.

Tulsa is back at the Reynolds Center to start a two-game home-stand on Saturday, Feb. 1, against Wichita State at 5:00 p.m. The Hurricane then welcomes today's opponent, UConn, to Tulsa on Thursday, Feb. 6 at 6:00 p.m.

QUICK HITS …

Tulsa goes 6-1 in the month of January, winning the last 5 contests.
The Hurricane has won the last 6 matchups against the Huskies
Brandon Rachal did not score in the first half, combining for 14 in the second half and overtime ... 17th double-figure scoring game of the season.
Jeriah Horne for the 8th time in 9 games scored in double-figures ... his 13th of the season.
It was Tulsa's 14th game of having a double-digit margin in paint points with 42 compared to the Huskies 32.
Reggie Jones' 4-point play was his first points in 5 games since scoring 2 at Cincinnati.