Tulsa Loses Heartbreaker 76-72 to Detroit Mercy

Wednesday, December 7

7:00 PM

Tulsa

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Detroit Mercy

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Detroit Mercy

Tulsa

Photo by: Dave Crenshaw

Tulsa Loses Heartbreaker 76-72 to Detroit Mercy

12/7/2022 10:10:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

GAME STATS I SEASON STATS

TULSA, Okla. –– Sam Griffin led three Tulsa players in double digits with 20 points, but it wasn't enough in a 75-72 loss to Detroit Mercy in front of 3,012 fans Wednesday night at the Reynolds Center.

Tulsa dropped its fifth straight game and fell to 2-6 on the season, while Detroit evened its season record to 5-5.

Griffin also had seven rebounds and five assists. Bryant Selebangue had a season-high 17 points and added 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double on the season for the Hurricane. Brandon Betson added 13 points off the bench. Detroit was led by its one-two punch of Gerald Liddell with 27 points and Antoine Davis with 23.

"It is a very disappointing loss for us. I know when we look at the tape, well look at the missed opportunities in the first half, a number of transition plays that we missed on and some free throws," said Tulsa Head Coach Eric Konkol.

"Then of course, overall, when you look at the box score, giving up 18 offensive rebounds is really the difference in the game. You're going to make some mistakes; you're going to make some execution mistakes. I told our team, I thought they emptied their tank. They played hard, I know they are giving it everything they've got, but we have to find a way to rebound the basketball better. You look at the free throw disparity and points in the box for them, but really those 18 offensive rebounds is the difference in this game," Konkol added.

The Titans grabbed 18 offensive rebounds and had a 25-to-13 advantage for second-chance points. Tulsa out-shot Detroit from the field, 45.3 to 38.5 percent, but the Titans converted 19-of-26 free throws, while Tulsa made it to the line just 12 times, making six of its attempts.

Tulsa led for nearly 29 minutes of the game, as the Titans didn't take its first lead until the 10:15 mark of the second half on a layup by Liddell for a 55-53 lead. The Hurricane knotted the score at 60 with 7:54 remaining on a Keyshawn Embery-Simpson step-back jumper. The remainder of the game went back and forth with three ties and five lead changes in the final six minutes.

The Hurricane took a 72-70 lead at the 2:24 mark on a Betson three-pointer, but Detroit's Isaiah Jones knocked down a trey as well to take a one-point lead with 0:50 left on the clock. The Titans made 3-of-4 free throws in the final 0:12 to take the victory.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Tulsa jumped out to a 14-4 lead in the game's opening six minutes, its largest lead of the first half, while holding Detroit scoreless for 4:25. The Titans scored a jumper at the 18:07 mark and went without a point until a layup at the 14:03 mark.

Tulsa didn't trail in the first half, but Detroit Mercy tied the score twice. The Titans tied the score at 27 at the 3:58 mark and then again at 29-29 with 3:04 remaining. The Hurricane scored the next six points to take a 35-29 lead with 1:36 left on the first-half clock. To close out the half, Tulsa made four of its last five field goals while Detroit was 3-of-3.

Tulsa led at the intermission 39-36, while shooting 44-percent from the field and 38.5-percent from 3-point range.

Detroit took its first lead of the game in the second half at 55-53 with 10:15 left on the game clock and its largest lead reached just four points two more times before ending with a four-point win.

Tulsa out-shot Detroit from the field, 45.3 to 38.5 percent, but the difference was at the free throw line with the Titans converting 19-of-26, while Tulsa made it to the line just 12 times and made six free throws for 50-percent.

Although there was only a two-rebound difference with Detroit leading the way, 41-39, the Titans grabbed 18 offensive rebounds, including 12 in the decisive second half, and had a 25-to-13 advantage for second-chance points.

GAME NOTES
•    This was the 18th meeting between Tulsa and Detroit Mercy … the series now stands 11-7 in favor of Tulsa.
•     Tulsa lost its fifth straight game, while Detroit snapped an 11-game non-conference road losing streak.• In the first half, Detroit made 8-of-10 free throws, while Tulsa was just 4-of-10 from the charity stripe.
•    Bryant Selebangue had his 5^th double-figure scoring game of the season, as he reached double digits in the first half with 10 points … it was also his 5^th double-digit rebounding game.
•    Selebangue ended with a new career-high of 17 points, breaking his previous high of 15 points.
•    Selebangue also had his 4^th double-double and second straight with 17 points and 10 rebounds
•     Sam Griffin had his 6^th double-digit scoring game of the season and his 30th in a Tulsa uniform.
•     Griffin scored 20 or more points for the 4^th time this season and 12^th time in his career at Tulsa.
•     Griffin had at least four three-pointers for the 4^th game this season with four treys.
•     Brandon Betson scored in double-digits for the 4^th time this season.

Tulsa will host another team from the state of Michigan on Saturday as the Central Michigan Chippewas will be the opponent on Saturday at 2 p.m. in the second game of a four-game homestand.