Tulsa Holds Off Shockers in Opening Round of AAC Championship 73-67

Thursday, March 10

Fort Worth, Texas / Dickies Arena

2:00 PM

Tulsa

11-19,4-14AAC

Wichita State

15-13,6-9AAC

Tulsa

Wichita St.

Tulsa Holds Off Shockers in Opening Round of AAC Championship 73-67

3/10/2022 6:54:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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Hurricane advances to quarterfinals against SMU Friday

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FORT WORTH, Texas –– The Tulsa Golden Hurricane led for more than 37 minutes and held off a late charge from Wichita State to win 73-67 in the first round of the 2022 Air Force Reserve American Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Championship at Dickies Arena on Thursday afternoon.

The 10th-seeded Tulsa improved to 11-19, while No. 7 Wichita State's season ends at 15-13. The Hurricane improved its record against the Shockers in conference tournament play to 4-2. Although this was the first meeting between the two schools in The American, the teams played five times when members of the Missouri Valley Conference.

Tulsa will face SMU at 6 p.m. on Friday in the quarterfinal round of the AAC Championship.

Tulsa outshot the Shockers, knocking down 45.3 percent of its field goals and holding Wichita State to 36 percent. Both teams hit seven threes, but Tulsa was a bit more efficient, shooting 35 percent on 3-pointers while Wichita State was 27 percent. Tulsa won the rebounding battle 38-36, points off turnovers 18-8 and fastbreak points 15-2.

"I'm very proud of our kids," Tulsa Head Coach Frank Haith said. "We fought from the very beginning of this game. I know we led about 37 minutes of this game. Wichita State made a tremendous run, which we knew they would. They're a tough team."

Sam Griffin led all scorers with 21 points, 13 of which came in the second half. Seniors Jeriah Horne and Darien Jackson and Rey Idowu each had a major impact on the game. Jackson scored 20 points and had nine rebounds. Horne recorded his fourth double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Rey Idowu had 10 points and nine boards.

Wichita State had four finish in double-figure scoring, led by Ricky Council IV with 19. Tyson Etienne (14), Qua Grant (13) and Dexter Dennis (10) were the other top scorers.

"Our kids competed and these two guys (Jackson and Jeriah), these two seniors came in here, and they weren't going to let us lose," Haith said. "They found a way to continue to encourage and motivate our young people. It was a great, great win for us."

Tulsa led by as many as 16 points, 48-32, with 12:40 to play before Wichita State made one last push. The Shockers went on an 8-0 run to cut the lead in half, before Jackson followed a miss 3-pointer with a put-back layup to put Tulsa up 50-40 at the 9:07 mark.

The Hurricane got its lead back to 11 twice before a second-chance 3-pointer made it 53-45 with just under seven minutes remaining. Three consecutive free throws and suddenly Tulsa's lead was down to five. After Griffin converted one-of-two from the line, Ricky Council IV hit a 3-pointer to make it a one possession game for the first time since midway through the opening half at 54-51.

Griffin made a pair of free throws, then the Shockers responded with a second-chance layup to stay within striking distance. Griffin came back with the biggest shot of the night, a pull-up 3-pointer for his sixth straight point and start a 9-2 run that pushed Tulsa's lead back to 10 points, 65-55, with 1:16 left.

From there, Tulsa knocked down the free throws needed to hold off the Shockers. The Hurricane went 8-10 from the line in the final minute.

In the first half, the Hurricane leaped out to an early 12-5 lead by the first media timeout, going on a 12-2 run after an opening three from Wichita State. Jackson scored seven quick points during the scoring spree, capped with a 3-pointer forcing a Wichita State timeout at the 15:24 mark.

The Shockers responded from their slow start to outscore Tulsa 16-8 to take the lead back 21-20 on a 3-pointer with 6:41 left in the half. Jackson quickly helped Tulsa take the lead back, getting to the hoop for another lay-in. This helped kickstart a 14-3 run to close the half. The run included 3-pointers from Griffin and Horne, who scored six and five each in that stretch. The Hurricane took a 34-24 lead into the break.

Tulsa shot 50 percent in the first half while holding Wichita State to 30 percent. Both teams were good on four 3-pointers in the opening stanza. Jackson scored 13 points and pulled down five rebounds to lead both teams. Horne and Griffin had eight points apiece.

The Hurricane and SMU Mustangs will tip-off at 6 p.m. Friday in the quarterfinal round action on ESPNU.