Tulsa Falls to Wichita State 86-75

Sunday, February 5

2:00 PM

Tulsa

5-17,1-10AAC

Wichita State

12-11,5-6AAC

Wichita St.

Tulsa

Photo by: Bill Powell

Tulsa Falls to Wichita State 86-75

2/5/2023 5:11:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

GAME STATS I SEASON STATS I HIGHLIGHTS I PRESS CONFERENCE

TULSA, Okla. –– Tim Dalger scored a career-high 24 points in leading Tulsa's valiant comeback effort in an 86-75 loss against the Wichita State Shockers (12-11, 5-6 AAC) Sunday afternoon in front of 3,764 fans at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.

Dalger made 7-of-14 field goals and knocked down a career-high 5-of-7 three-pointers en route to his 24-point performance. The junior tallied 20 of those points in the second half. Sam Griffin added 14 points and freshman BB Knight had his first double-digit scoring game with 13 points

The Shockers had four starters score in double-figures, led by Jaron Pierre with 19 points, while Jaykwon Walton and James Rojas added 17 points apiece.

"We knew Wichita State coming in was playing good basketball. It just seems like they've come together, and we saw that first-hand today. Credit to coach (Isaac) Brown and their group. It was too much for us to stop. I thought that we played harder in stretches late, but not throughout enough to give them enough resistance, especially around the paint. I know that's what we were most concerned about – their ability to get it around the rim. We just didn't have enough resistance there today," said Tulsa head coach Eric Konkol.

Tulsa (5-16, 1-10 AAC) trailed by as many as 24 points in the second half and was down 21 with just under three minutes to play when the Hurricane put it in high gear. The Hurricane used a pressing defense and hit some key baskets to cut the deficit to eight points three times in the final forty seconds.

A WSU driving layup by Isaac Abidde made the score 77-56 at the 2:58 mark. Dalger scored the next eight points on two treys and 2-of-2 free throws in cutting Tulsa's deficit to 13 points, 77-64, with 1:39 left on the game clock. Griffin's three-pointer made it a 10-point game at 79-69 and Dalger's dunk off a rebound got Tulsa down to an eight- point deficit with 0:36 remaining.

The Shockers made 5-of-6 free throws in the final 0:14 to hold off Tulsa's comeback bid.

Tulsa finished the game connecting on 12-of-30 three-pointers but was outmatched inside as the Shockers had a 46-24 edge for points in the paint. WSU shot 52-percent from the field, while Tulsa hit 42-percent overall and was 40-percent from behind the arc.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Wichita State jumped out to a 9-3 lead before the Hurricane knotted the score at 9-9 with two three-pointers, as Tulsa connected on three of its first six treys. Tulsa took a 13-12 lead on a Bryant Selebange layup before the Shockers went on a 14-2 run for a 26-14 advantage. The one-point Hurricane advantage would end up being Tulsa's only lead of the contest.

The Shockers shot 68-percent in the first 10 minutes of the contest, while Tulsa connected on 42 percent and went a stretch of over five minutes without a basket.

WSU took a 13-point lead at the 8:54 mark and again with 7:35 remaining, 30-17, before three-pointers by Dalger and Knight cut the deficit to seven points under the seven-minute mark.

The visitors went back ahead by 13 points on a 7-1 run for a 37-24 lead at the 5:14 mark while finishing the first 20 minutes on 13-2 run over the final 5:53 to take a 45-26 lead into halftime.

Wichita State ended the first half connecting on 61-percent of its field goals, while outscoring Tulsa in the paint 24-8 and out-rebounding the Hurricane 24-9. Jarron Pierre led WSU with 14-first-half points, while Knight was Tulsa's leading scorer in the first 20 minutes with eight points.

Tulsa scored the first four points of the second half to bring its deficit down to 15 points before the Shockers scored the next six points to take a 51-30 lead.

WSU took its largest lead of the game, 24 points, at the 13:28 mark for a 61-37 lead. From the 12:07 mark when Jesaiah McWright connected on a three-pointer, the Hurricane outscored the Shockers 38-17 the remainder of the contest.

In the final 2:47 Tulsa had a 16-9 scoring advantage and cut its deficit to eight points on three separate occasions in the final 0:36.

GAME NOTES
• This was the 139^th meeting between Tulsa and Wichita State, the longest series in school history for the Hurricane … WSU improved its' series lead to 76-63.
•    It was Tulsa's fourth consecutive loss.
•    Tulsa is now 0-12 when trailing at halftime and 3-13 when being outrebounded.
•    Freshman BB Knight tied his season-high of 8 points in the first half and ended the game with season-best of 13 points.
•    Tim Dalger had a career-high with 24 points, surpassing his previous-high of 18 points vs. Jackson State earlier this season.
•    Dalger had his 8^th double-figure scoring game of the season and the 11^th of his career.
•    Dalger had a career-high 5 three-pointers, breaking his previous-high of 4 from earlier this season.
•    Sam Griffin had his 18^th double-figure scoring game this season and the 74^th of his career.
•    Bryant Selebangue had his 13^th double-figure rebounding game of the season and his 8^th in the last nine games.

Tulsa goes on the road for two straight games, opening the road trip on Wednesday against the nation's 3^rd-ranked Houston Cougars with a 7 p.m. tipoff, followed by a 6 p.m. game on Saturday at UCF. Tulsa returns to the Reynolds Center to face the South Florida Bulls on Wednesday, Feb. 15, at 7 p.m.