Tulsa Comeback Bid Falls Short 76-72

Tuesday, January 10

7:00 PM

Tulsa

4-11,0-4AAC

Temple

10-8,4-1AAC

Temple

Tulsa

Tulsa Comeback Bid Falls Short 76-72

1/10/2023 10:09:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

GAME STATS I SEASON STATS

TULSA, Okla. –– Tulsa used a 22-point scoring run to take a second-half lead but it wasn't enough as Temple fought back for a 76-72 win Tuesday night in front of 3,053 fans at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.

Tulsa dropped its fifth straight game, falling to 4-11 on the year and 0-4 in American Athletic Conference play, while Temple improved to 10-8 and 4-1 in the AAC.

"I thought it was two hard playing teams tonight," Tulsa head coach Eric Konkol said. "We had some really good energy and passion for – certainly the second half and moments of the first half. However, that middle section of the first half, we dug ourselves a hole that we weren't able to dig ourselves out of. I'm proud of our team for the resolve in coming back. We showed some potential, and that's what I told them. There's an encouraging thing about that type of potential, but it's also a dangerous thing if you don't realize it. And you have to be able to realize it with consistency and toughness."

Bryant Selebangue had his sixth double-double of the year with a 19-point, 12-rebound performance, while Sam Griffin added 19 points and Anthony Pritchard 13 for the Golden Hurricane. Temple also had three double-figure scorers, led by Zach Hicks' 14 points.

After trailing by 20 points, the Hurricane scored the final six points of the first half and the first 16 points of the second, turning a 14-point halftime deficit into a 47-45 lead at the 15:50 mark of the second half. Tulsa's lead lasted for just 0:21 but two ties ensued in the next minute.

Temple kept its lead between one and eight points before taking a 69-59 advantage at the 5:42 mark. Tulsa sliced its deficit to three points on a traditional 3-point play by Pritchard to make the score 75-72 with 0:15 on the clock. Temple's Nick Jourdain hit the second of a 1-and-1 for a four-point advantage and the eventual victory.

For the game, the Hurricane shot just 6-of-27 from three-point range for the game and finished at 42-percent from the field, but connected on 82-percent from the free throw line. Temple shot 44-percent from the field and held a 41-to-30 edge on the boards

HOW IT HAPPENED
Tulsa made its first three shots and took a 7-4 lead before Temple went on an 11-2 run to take a 15-9 lead at the 13:20 mark of the first period. The Owls took its first double-figure lead at 27-16 with 9:02 left on the clock.

Temple continued its hot shooting in the first half as the Owls held a 45-31 halftime lead.

The biggest first-half deficit for Tulsa was 20 points at 45-25 with 1:14 left on the first-half clock, but the Hurricane closed out the final 0:54 by scoring the next six points in cutting the Temple lead at intermission to 14 points.

The Owls were on fire for most of the first 20 minutes, connecting on 56-percent of its field goals and knocking down 9-of-19 three-pointers for 47 percent. Tulsa made 40-percent from the field and shot just 25-percent from behind the arc, making just 3-of-12 treys.

Temple had an 18-11 edge in rebounding, 11-4 advantage in assists and an 18-12 edge in the paint.

Tulsa began the second half on a 16-0 run to take a 47-45 lead in the first 4:01 of the half. The Owls went back up by 10 points with five minutes on the game clock at 71-61 and again at 73-63 with 0:47 left. The Hurricane went on a 9-2 run to make the score 72-72 before a Temple free throw made the final margin four points.

GAME NOTES
• This was the 18^th meeting between Tulsa and Temple, and it now stands at 11-7 in favor of Tulsa.
•    Tulsa dropped its 5^th straight game and lost its 4^th home game of the season.
•    Sam Griffin had his 12^th double-figure scoring game this season and the 68^th of his career.
•    Bryant Selebangue turned in his 10^th double-digit scoring game this season and his 5^th consecutive.
•    With 18 points and 12 rebounds, it was Selebangue's 6^th double-double of the year and his second straight.
•     Anthony Pritchard had his 7^th double-digit scoring game of the season and the 10^th of his career.

Tulsa will be on the road Saturday against longtime rival Wichita State with tip-off scheduled for 3 p.m. in Wichita, Kansas.