Tulsa’s Comeback Falls Two Points Short Against No. 11 Houston

Saturday, January 15

Reynolds Center

7:00 PM

Tulsa

6-9,0-4AAC

Houston

15-2,4-0AAC

Houston

Tulsa

Photo by: Bill Powell

Tulsa’s Comeback Falls Two Points Short Against No. 11 Houston

1/15/2022 10:32:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

GAME BOX SCORE I SEASON STATS

TULSA, OKLA. –– Tulsa made a furious comeback attempt after trailing by 17 points at halftime, but the nation's 11^th-ranked Houston Cougars squeaked out with a 66-64 win Saturday night at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.

Jeriah Horne had team-highs of 24 points and six rebounds to lead Tulsa, including 17 points in the second half. Sam Griffin scored 10 points with all three of his field goals coming on three-pointers in the final 2:52 to make it a two-point contest. Houston was led by Kyler Edwards with 29 points.

"Obviously, that was a tough one. It's really disappointing. Our effort was great in the second half. Actually we played hard in the first half, Houston threw some shots in late in the first half," said Tulsa Head Coach Frank Haith. "I'm proud of how hard our kids fought. I thought they gave everything they had in the ball game against one of the better teams in the country. We didn't get any breaks in this game either."

Tulsa fell to 6-9 overall and 0-4 in American Athletic Conference play, while Houston improved to 15-2 and 4-0 in league action.

Tulsa outscored Houston 43-28 in the second half after the Cougars had a 38-21 edge in the first 20 minutes. The Hurricane ended the game shooting 40-percent from the field and 38-percent from behind the arc, while Houston connected on 39-percent of its shots. Tulsa had a 24-20 advantage for points scored in the paint.

In the second half, Tulsa shot 57-percent from the field and 62-percent from three-point range, while the Cougars managed to make only 2-of-11 three-pointers in the final 20 minutes for 18 percent.

Tulsa stormed out of the locker room after halftime and equaled its first half point total of 21 points in the first 6:56 of the second half to make the score 45-42 at the 13:04 mark. The Hurricane cut a 17-point halftime deficit to eight points in the first four minutes, outscoring the Cougars 12-3 by the 16-minute mark to make the score 41-33.

Horne scored six of Tulsa's first 12 second-half points with two made three-pointers.

The Hurricane made it a two-point game, 48-46, at the 11:43 mark as Horne led Tulsa during the first eight-minute stretch of the second half with 11 points. Horne's fourth trey of the second half brought Tulsa to within one point at 50-49 with 10:59 left on the game clock.

Houston then responded with a 12-2 run to jump back to a double-figure lead at 62-52 with 5:29 remaining as Tulsa was on a three-plus minute scoring drought in that span. Horne's three-pointer at the 3:50 mark snapped the drought and made it a nine-point game at 64-55.

That's when Griffin, who had just one point in the first 37 minutes of the contest, came alive with a barrage of three-pointers to bring the Hurricane to within two points. He hit his first field goal of the game at the 2:52 mark as that three-pointer made the score 66-58. He nailed another trey at the 2:10 mark to make it a five-point game and then his third three-pointer pulled the Hurricane to within two points at 66-64.

Tulsa had two chances in the final 0:02 to tie and win the game but both shots fell short.

After Tulsa led 3-2 early in the contest, the Cougars went on a 15-2 run, including 10 straight points to take a 17-5 lead. Rey Idowu's jumper in the lane ended Tulsa's drought at the 11:31 mark to make the score 17-7.

The Hurricane scored the next four points to cut its deficit to 17-11 while holding Houston scoreless for over four minutes. The Cougars ended its scoring drought on a three-pointer by Kyler Edwards at the 7:19 mark, while Tulsa's LaDavius Draine responded with a trey of his own to make the score 20-14.

Houston moved its lead back to double digits on Edwards fourth three-pointer of the game for a 26-14 lead. Tulsa cut the UH lead to eight points, 26-18, with 3:29 left to play, but the Cougars closed out the half on a 12-3 run, including five points in the final 0:15 to take a 38-21 halftime lead as the final three points came on a desperation heave from past half court as time expired.

At the intermission, Houston was shooting just 39-percent from the field but 41- percent from three-point range, converting on 7-of-17 treys. Edwards had 18 first-half points to lead the Cougars.

Tulsa shot just 25-percent from the floor and made only 1-of-11 three-pointers in the first 20 minutes. The Hurricane made only 13 of their final 16 field goal attempts of the first half. Tulsa was led by Horne's seven points in the first 20 minutes.

Tulsa will be on the road Thursday in Cincinnati, Ohio, to take on the Cincinnati Bearcats in an 8 p.m. (CT) game on ESPNU. The Hurricane will be back at the Reynolds Center next Sunday afternoon (Jan. 23) for a rematch against the Memphis Tigers in a 2 p.m. tipoff.