Rachal Scores 22 Points in 65-64 Upset Over #5 Houston

Tuesday, December 29

Reynolds Center

8:00 PM

Tulsa

5-3,2-1AAC

Houston

7-1,2-1AAC

Houston

Tulsa

Photo by: Bill Powell

Rachal Scores 22 Points in 65-64 Upset Over #5 Houston

12/29/2020 11:19:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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Tulsa, Okla. – Brandon Rachal scored 22 points, including two made free throws with just one second to play, to give Tulsa a 65-64 upset win over #5 Houston on Tuesday night at the Donald W. Reynolds Center. TU moved to 5-3 overall and 2-1 in American Athletic Conference play, while UH suffered their first loss of the season to fall to 7-1 overall and 2-1 in the league.

"I said to myself you made every free throw tonight, just do it the same way. You shoot free throws every day just knock it down. The second one felt a little short, I'm not gonna lie, but when I saw how it bounced and went over I knew it was going to drop," said Rachal on his game-winning free throws.

This was TU's third win over a top-five opponent, including an 84-77 win over #3 Louisville (Feb. 8, 1975) at the Tulsa Fairgrounds Pavilion, and a 77-76 overtime decision against #5 UCLA in Los Angeles, Calif. (Nov. 20, 1996).

"Obviously it's a great win. We beat one of the best teams in the country," said Tulsa head Coach Frank Haith. "I thought our guys played with great toughness. Down the stretch we executed. I'm just proud of how we competed. We've got a lot of things that I think didn't go our way ... but I'm proud of how we stayed with it."

Curtis Haywood II added nine points, while Darien Jackson and Keyshawn Embery-Simpson all posted seven points.

Rachal also pulled down a team-best seven rebounds, while Elijah Joiner had four assists and Darien Jackson had three steals.

Tulsa's bench outscored the Cougar bench, 25-11, while Houston had a 19-8 advantage in second-chance points, an 11-4 lead in fast break points and a 13-9 edge in points off turnovers.

The Hurricane shot 41-percent from the field, 35-percent from three-point range and 81-percent from the free throw line, while the Cougars shot 35-percent from the field, 19-percent from behind the arc and 64-percent from the line.

Houston climbed to an 11-point lead, 15-4, with 13:28 on the clock in the first quarter, but Rachal (3), Joiner (2) and Haywood (6) combined for an 11-0 run to tie the game at 15-all at the 9:45 mark.

From that point on the Golden Hurricane stayed within a two-basket deficit until a three-pointer by Jackson gave Tulsa their first lead of the ballgame (27-26) with 1:59 remaining in the first half. The two teams traded leads four times before TU went into the locker room up, 31-30.

Tulsa started the game just 1-of-6 from the field (16-percent) but went into halftime shooting a solid 40-percent from the field, 41-percent from three-point range and 80-percent from the line, compared to Houston's 37-percent from the field, 9-percent from behind the arc (1-of-9) and 58-percent from the line.

A layup by Quentin Grimes with 17:34 on the clock put the Cougars ahead, 35-33, but Rachal put Tulsa back up, 41-40, on a layup with 14:13 remaining in the contest. Houston took a 44-43 advantage at the 13:01 mark, but just five seconds later Tulsa was up 45-44 on a layup by Embery-Simpson.

The Golden Hurricane maintained the lead until Houston's Marcus Sasser tied the score, 62-62, with 50 seconds remaining in the game. Rey Idowu went 1-for-2 at the free throw line to put Tulsa up, 63-62, with just 26 seconds to play. Caleb Mills put Houston up by one, 64-63, with six seconds to play, but a pair of free throws made by Rachal gave TU the one-point win.

Houston was led by three players in double figures, including Grimes (19), Sasser (14) and Mills (11). Grimes also had a team-leading seven rebounds and four assists.

Tulsa will return to action on Saturday, January 2 at Cincinnati. Game time is set for 2:00 pm (CT) in Cincinnati, Ohio.