Saturday, January 27
Houston, Texas
7:00 PM
Tulsa
11-8,2-5AAC
85
at
83
Rice
7-13,1-6AAC
1
2
F
Tulsa
36
49
85
Rice
31
52
83
Golden Hurricane Tops Rice 85-83 for First Road Win
1/27/2024 10:53:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HOUSTON, Texas –– The University of Tulsa men's basketball team fought through tense final moments to clinch an 85-83 win over Rice for its first road win of the season and first in the Eric Konkol era.
Tulsa (11-8, 2-5 The American) led for the majority of the game, including by eight with 27 seconds left in the ballgame. But the Owls (7-13, 1-6 The American) would not go quietly in its home gym. Rice connected on five of its final seven shots, including four 3-pointers to get the lead down to three, 85-82, with four seconds left.
Rice forced a Tulsa turnover on the inbounds and then was fouled and went to the line for two. After making the first, the hosts purposefully missed the second and pulled of the play perfectly, getting the offensive rebound and finding sharpshooter Travis Evee in the corner. There, Jared Garcia made perhaps the play of the game with a leaping block to deny the three, his fourth of five on the evening. Rice had a chance with 0.2 on the clock, but again Garcia came up big, getting a hand on the attempt as time expired.
Haggerty led the way with 21 points, with 19 coming in the second half. He added five rebounds, four assist and a steal. Cobe Williams dropped 19 points alongside five rebounds, six assists and four steals. Carlous Williams and Jared Garcia each added 13 points. Garcia and both Williams each connected on three triples.
The Hurricane shot 55.1 percent from the field and 47.8 percent from long range in the contest, while Rice had shooting clips of 43.5 percent from the floor and 38.2 on 3-pointers. The Owls knocked down 13 to Tulsa's 11 from deep.
HOW IT HAPPENED
IN THE FIRST HALF . . .
Garcia scored the opening five points of the contest, first with a strong move and finish at the rim, and then with a catch and shoot 3-pointer. The Owls scored the game's next seven points to take the lead as Isaiah Barnes went to the bench with an early two fouls.
The Hurricane went on an 11-0 run to take a 16-7 lead. Fueling the run was back-to-back 3-pointers from Jesaiah McWright and Carlous Williams, and then a Cobe Williams old fashioned 3-point play.
The Owls cut Tulsa's lead to 19-15 with a 3-pointer, but Tulsa went on another mini-run, scoring eight straight to go up 27-15 with 7:20 left in the half, the first 10-point lead of the game. But the Owls would not let the game get out of hand, outscoring Tulsa 16-9 down the opening stretch.
It was a 3-point game with under 10 seconds remaining in the opening half and Rice had the ball looking to tie. Haggerty, who had been held scoreless in the half, jumped a Rice pass and took it the other way, laying it in as time expired to send Tulsa to the lockers up 36-31.
Each team knocked down six 3-pointers in first 20 minutes. The Hurricane shot 46.2 percent from the floor, while Rice knocked down 40 percent of its efforts. Cobe Williams scored 10 and Carlous Williams added eight to pace Tulsa.
IN THE SECOND HALF . . .
Haggerty and the Hurricane came out aggressive in the second half, as the freshman scored on the opening possession to extend Tulsa's lead to seven. After a Rice jumper, Garcia responded with a three and Haggerty got to the rim for a fastbreak layup and Tulsa's lead was 10.
The Hurricane pushed its lead to a game-high 14 for the first time at the 13:23 mark. Jesaiah McWright found Haggerty cutting to the basket with a great pass that beat the defense and led to an easy bucket and a 56-42 lead, forcing a Rice timeout.
The lead would stay above 10 almost the entire time for the next seven minutes until a Rice bucket cut the lead to nine, 65-56 with 6:30 remaining. Rice threatened to really put the pressure on the Hurricane, with a second chance 3-pointer to make the score 66-60 and just under six minutes in regulation. Haggerty quieted the crowd with a massive 3-pointer on his first and only attempt from long range, pushing the lead back to nine.
When Rice got it back down to six again with 4:00 to play, it was Garica's turn to knock down a 3-pointer from the top of the arc. Cobe Williams knocked down a pair of free throws to push the lead to 11. Rice would finally get Tulsa's lead under 10 for good with a 3-pointer at 1:13 remaining, setting up the end game sequence.
Haggerty's 19 points paced Tulsa in the second half. He was 5-of-6 (83.3 percent) from the field and connected on eight free throws. The Hurricane shot 66.7 percent from the field and 50 percent on 3-pointers, knocking down five in the second half.
GAME NOTES
• Tulsa improved to 11-8 on the season and 2-5 in The American games.
• Tulsa moves to 29-6 against the Owls all-time
• Tulsa snapped an 18-game road losing streak, winning for the first time since Feb. 19, 2022 at South Florida.
• Jared Garcia's five blocks was the most by a Tulsa player since Brandon Swannegan had five against South Florida on Jan. 31, 2015 … Swannegan was in attendance for tonight's win.
• Freshman PJ Haggerty had his 18th double-figure scoring game and 10th 20-point performance of the season.
• Cobe Williams reached double figures in scoring for the 15th time this season and 68th in his career.
• Junior Jared Garcia scored 13 for his eighth double-figure scoring game.
• Carlous Williams added 13 for his fifth game of 10 or more points.
The Golden Hurricane returns home for a midweek rivalry game with Wichita State. Tipoff for the Wednesday night showdown is set for 6 p.m. and will air on ESPNU.
Tulsa (11-8, 2-5 The American) led for the majority of the game, including by eight with 27 seconds left in the ballgame. But the Owls (7-13, 1-6 The American) would not go quietly in its home gym. Rice connected on five of its final seven shots, including four 3-pointers to get the lead down to three, 85-82, with four seconds left.
Rice forced a Tulsa turnover on the inbounds and then was fouled and went to the line for two. After making the first, the hosts purposefully missed the second and pulled of the play perfectly, getting the offensive rebound and finding sharpshooter Travis Evee in the corner. There, Jared Garcia made perhaps the play of the game with a leaping block to deny the three, his fourth of five on the evening. Rice had a chance with 0.2 on the clock, but again Garcia came up big, getting a hand on the attempt as time expired.
Haggerty led the way with 21 points, with 19 coming in the second half. He added five rebounds, four assist and a steal. Cobe Williams dropped 19 points alongside five rebounds, six assists and four steals. Carlous Williams and Jared Garcia each added 13 points. Garcia and both Williams each connected on three triples.
The Hurricane shot 55.1 percent from the field and 47.8 percent from long range in the contest, while Rice had shooting clips of 43.5 percent from the floor and 38.2 on 3-pointers. The Owls knocked down 13 to Tulsa's 11 from deep.
HOW IT HAPPENED
IN THE FIRST HALF . . .
Garcia scored the opening five points of the contest, first with a strong move and finish at the rim, and then with a catch and shoot 3-pointer. The Owls scored the game's next seven points to take the lead as Isaiah Barnes went to the bench with an early two fouls.
The Hurricane went on an 11-0 run to take a 16-7 lead. Fueling the run was back-to-back 3-pointers from Jesaiah McWright and Carlous Williams, and then a Cobe Williams old fashioned 3-point play.
The Owls cut Tulsa's lead to 19-15 with a 3-pointer, but Tulsa went on another mini-run, scoring eight straight to go up 27-15 with 7:20 left in the half, the first 10-point lead of the game. But the Owls would not let the game get out of hand, outscoring Tulsa 16-9 down the opening stretch.
It was a 3-point game with under 10 seconds remaining in the opening half and Rice had the ball looking to tie. Haggerty, who had been held scoreless in the half, jumped a Rice pass and took it the other way, laying it in as time expired to send Tulsa to the lockers up 36-31.
Each team knocked down six 3-pointers in first 20 minutes. The Hurricane shot 46.2 percent from the floor, while Rice knocked down 40 percent of its efforts. Cobe Williams scored 10 and Carlous Williams added eight to pace Tulsa.
IN THE SECOND HALF . . .
Haggerty and the Hurricane came out aggressive in the second half, as the freshman scored on the opening possession to extend Tulsa's lead to seven. After a Rice jumper, Garcia responded with a three and Haggerty got to the rim for a fastbreak layup and Tulsa's lead was 10.
The Hurricane pushed its lead to a game-high 14 for the first time at the 13:23 mark. Jesaiah McWright found Haggerty cutting to the basket with a great pass that beat the defense and led to an easy bucket and a 56-42 lead, forcing a Rice timeout.
The lead would stay above 10 almost the entire time for the next seven minutes until a Rice bucket cut the lead to nine, 65-56 with 6:30 remaining. Rice threatened to really put the pressure on the Hurricane, with a second chance 3-pointer to make the score 66-60 and just under six minutes in regulation. Haggerty quieted the crowd with a massive 3-pointer on his first and only attempt from long range, pushing the lead back to nine.
When Rice got it back down to six again with 4:00 to play, it was Garica's turn to knock down a 3-pointer from the top of the arc. Cobe Williams knocked down a pair of free throws to push the lead to 11. Rice would finally get Tulsa's lead under 10 for good with a 3-pointer at 1:13 remaining, setting up the end game sequence.
Haggerty's 19 points paced Tulsa in the second half. He was 5-of-6 (83.3 percent) from the field and connected on eight free throws. The Hurricane shot 66.7 percent from the field and 50 percent on 3-pointers, knocking down five in the second half.
GAME NOTES
• Tulsa improved to 11-8 on the season and 2-5 in The American games.
• Tulsa moves to 29-6 against the Owls all-time
• Tulsa snapped an 18-game road losing streak, winning for the first time since Feb. 19, 2022 at South Florida.
• Jared Garcia's five blocks was the most by a Tulsa player since Brandon Swannegan had five against South Florida on Jan. 31, 2015 … Swannegan was in attendance for tonight's win.
• Freshman PJ Haggerty had his 18th double-figure scoring game and 10th 20-point performance of the season.
• Cobe Williams reached double figures in scoring for the 15th time this season and 68th in his career.
• Junior Jared Garcia scored 13 for his eighth double-figure scoring game.
• Carlous Williams added 13 for his fifth game of 10 or more points.
The Golden Hurricane returns home for a midweek rivalry game with Wichita State. Tipoff for the Wednesday night showdown is set for 6 p.m. and will air on ESPNU.
Team Stats
Tulsa
Rice
FG%
.551
.435
3FG%
.478
.382
FT%
.769
.667
RB
31
36
TO
16
13
STL
8
10
Game Leaders
Pts
21
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
8
Pts
19
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
6
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
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