Tulsa Falls to UConn 72-56

Thursday, February 6

Reynolds Center

6 PM

Tulsa

15-7,7-2AAC

UConn

12-10,3-6AAC

UConn

Tulsa

Photo by: Bill Powell

Tulsa Falls to UConn 72-56

2/6/2020 9:11:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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TULSA, Okla. –– Martins Igbanu's career-high of 29 points wasn't enough Thursday night as the UConn Huskies snapped Tulsa's 6-game winning streak with a 72-56 win in front of 4,630 fans at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.

It was a cold-shooting night from the perimeter for the Hurricane as only 3 points came from behind the arc, while 34 points were scored in the paint. The Huskies outscored Tulsa from 3-point range, 30-3, as Tulsa made only 1-of-12 treys to UConn's 10-of-22 three-pointers.

The loss snapped a 6-game winning streak for the Hurricane and was the Huskies' first win in six meetings at the Reynolds Center. Tulsa fell to 15-7 overall and 7-2 in American Athletic Conference play, while UConn improved to 12-10 and 3-7 in the league.

En route to his new career-high, Igbanu made 11-of-15 field goals and converted 7-of-8 free throws on the night, while Elijah Joiner tossed in 9 points and Brandon Rachal added 8 with a team-high 7 rebounds.

Igbanu's previous best came just 12 days earlier against this same UConn team when he scored 28 points in a 79-75 overtime win in Hartford.

UConn dominated the glass, out-rebounding the Hurricane 37-22 and had an 18-to-9 advantage in 2^nd chance points.

Going into halftime the Huskies had a 2-point lead and the visitors came out of the intermission on an 11-2 run to take a 42-31 lead at the 17:15 mark. Two free throws by Igbanu at the 17:02 mark sparked a 10-0 Tulsa run that saw Igbanu add 6 more points and Jackson getting a layup to cut the deficit to one point at 42-41 with 13:44 remaining in the contest.

After UConn scored to make it 44-41, Tulsa's Rachal left the game with an ankle injury at the 12:28 mark and would not return.

While Igbanu led Tulsa on its 10-0 run, UConn's James Bouknight nearly single-handily put the Huskies back ahead by double-digits at 57-47 with 8:52 left in the contest by scoring 13 straight points of the Huskies 15 in that stretch.

Bouknight ended the game with 22 points, while Alterique Gilbert added 17 points for the Huskies.

The Hurricane cut the deficit to 5 points, 57-52, at the 7:53 mark on a Jeriah Horne layup, but the Huskies kept coming up with an answer. Tulsa scored just 4 points over the final 6:43, including just one field goal that came with 3:50 left in the contest. In that same time span, UConn totaled 11 points to close out the game and capture the 16-point victory.

Tulsa jumped out to a 4-0 start and led 8-7 before a UConn 3-pointer put the Huskies ahead 10-8 within the first 4 minutes of the contest. The Hurricane then scored the next 7 points for a 15-10 lead with just under 12 minutes remaining in the first quarter.

In an 8-minute span in the first half, Igbanu scored 9 of Tulsa's 13 points to put the Hurricane ahead 24-18 at the 4:48 mark. Igbanu ended up scoring 13 of Tulsa's final 18 points in the first 20 minutes, all coming under the 12:50 mark.

The Huskies scored 15 of their first-half points from behind the arc and took a 31-29 lead into halftime. Tulsa was 0-for-5 from 3-point range, but kept the score close in the first half with the help of converting 11-of-14 free throws.

Igbanu led Tulsa scorers in the first half with his 13 points, followed by 8 from Rachal. Gilbert had a high of 10 for the Huskies.

Tulsa goes on the road this weekend to face the UCF Knights in Orlando, Fla., for a Sunday afternoon match-up. Game time is 1:00 p.m. (CT). Tulsa returns to the Reynolds Center for a Wednesday, Feb. 12 contest against the ECU Pirates with a 7 p.m. tip time.

QUICK HITS …
•      Martins Igbanu scored his career-high of 29 points, breaking his previous career best of 28 points against these same Huskies 12 days ago.
•      In Tulsa's two AAC losses, the Hurricane has been outscored from 3-point range 60-3.
•      Igbanu also set career highs with 11 field goals made, 15 field goals attempted, and 3 blocked shots.
•      This was just the second game that Tulsa had one or fewer players score in double-figures … Martins Igbanu was the only player to score in double-digits today, while no player scored in double-digits in an earlier loss to Cincinnati.
•      The loss snapped Tulsa's 6-game winning streak.