Tulsa Falls to No. 3 Houston

Wednesday, December 28

8:00 PM

Tulsa

4-8,0-1AAC

Houston

13-1,1-0AAC

Houston

Tulsa

Tulsa Falls to No. 3 Houston

12/28/2022 10:53:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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GAME STATS I PHOTO GALLERY I SEASON STATS | PRESS CONFERENCE

TULSA, Okla. –– The Tulsa Golden Hurricane fell to No. 3 Houston 89-50 in the American Athletic Conference opener for both schools Wednesday night in front of 4,807 fans at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.

Tulsa fell to 4-8 and 0-1 in league play, while Houston improved to 13-1 and 1-0 in AAC action.

Bryant Selebangue led Tulsa with 13 points and nine rebounds. Brandon Betson and Sam Griffin added eight points. Houston had four players with double-digit points, led by J'Wan Roberts' 15 points.

"Certainly, not the outcome we were hoping for. We knew this was a very good Houston team. I've always had great respect for coach Sampson and his programs, wtching from afar. They were very impressive today," said Tulsa head coach Eric Konkol.

"I thought we did some things well in moments. Things that we had practiced, I was happy to see us execute those things. But the overall stamina required to stay in a game against Houston is tremendous. Not just in trying to score against them, which of course is difficult and it has been for everybody, but also their passing, ability to share it and find shots. They got it rolling and they made some difficult shots too. It was a well-rounded performance by them and we were just not able to stay in it."

Houston expanded its 17-point halftime lead to 27 points on a 12-2 run to start the second half for a 55-28 lead at the 15:55 mark. The Cougars ended the contest with its largest lead of the game of 39 points.

The Cougars converted on 59 percent from the field on the night, while Tulsa managed to shoot only 34 percent. The Hurricane was 5-of-25 from three-point range, and just 1-of-11 in the3 second half.

Tulsa did hold its' own on the rebounding end, trailing the Cougars by just four boards at 35-31. Tulsa had 12 offensive boards to Houston's seven. But, Tulsa's 15 turnovers turned into 24 points for the Cougars.

HOW IT HAPPENED
After Tulsa led 8-5 in the first 4+ minutes, Houston went on a 10-0 run to take a 15-8 lead at the 12:02 mark. Tulsa cut its deficit to two points at 15-13, before the Cougars went on another 10-0 run to take its first double-digit lead of the game at 25-13 with 9:05 left on the clock.

Bryant Selebangue scored eight points for the Hurricane on 4-of-4 from the field in the first nine minutes.

Tulsa cut Houston's to six points at 30-24 at the 5:40 mark before the Cougars closed out the first half on a 13-2 run for a 43-26 halftime lead. Tulsa's lone basket in that stretch came on a Selebangue layup at the 3:01 mark.

Houston converted 18-of-31 field goals in the first half for 58 percent with six of those coming from behind the arc. Tulsa took only 24 shots and mad 10 for 42 percent. The Hurricane kept the rebounding battle close, trailing 16-14, but had eight first-half turnovers that amounted to 13 Houston points.

Houston expanded its 17-point halftime lead to 27 points on a 12-2 run to start the second half for a 55-28 lead at the 15:55 mark. The Cougars took a 30-point lead for the first time at 62-32 and ended the game with a 39-point victory.

GAME NOTES
• This was the 60^th meeting between Tulsa and Houston … Houston now leads 31-29.
• No. 3-ranked Houston is the highest ranked opponent to play at the Reynolds Center since No. 1 Memphis came to town on Jan. 23, 2008. (Memphis won 56-41).
• Bryant Selebangue had his 7^th double-figure scoring game this season.
• Tulsa is just the 6^th of Houston's 14 opponents to reach 50 points this season.
• Tulsa fell to 0-6 on the season when trailing at halftime.

Tulsa will be on the road for a two-game swing, first against the SMU Mustangs on New Year's Day, Jan. 1, for a 2 p.m. start time, then on Jan. 4, in New Orleans to face the Tulane Green Wave for a 6 p.m. tipoff.