Second Half Woes Trip Up Hurricane on Wednesday

Wednesday, November 20

7 p.m.

Tulsa

3-2,0-0AAC

Little Rock

3-2,0-0OVC

Little Rock

Tulsa

Second Half Woes Trip Up Hurricane on Wednesday

11/20/2024 10:45:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score

TULSA, Okla. –– The Golden Hurricane struggled to score points and get stops in the second half of Wednesday's 71-57 loss against Little Rock in the Donald W. Reynolds Center.

Tulsa (3-2) shot just 33.3 percent from the floor and hit only 4-of-20 (20 percent) of its 3-point attempts in the second frame. TU was slightly better for the game, hitting 36.7 percent of its field goals and 10 triples at a 30.3 percent clip. On the other end, Little Rock (3-2) rarely missed, shooting 70.4 percent and 57.1 percent on 3-pointers (4-of-7) in the second half. The Trojans finished the game with shooting clips of 46.4 percent on field goals and 44.4 percent from long range.

Tyshawn Archie led the way for Tulsa with 15 points. Only he and Braeden Carrington (11) finished scoring in double figures. Carrington led the way on the glass with six boards, while Archie dished out five assists.

The Trojans had four finish in double figures, led by 23 from Johnathan Lawson. He also had seven rebounds, five assists and two steals with no turnovers. Mwani Wilkinson scored 16 to go with a game-high nine rebounds. Isaiah Lewis added 17 and Ante Beljan scored 11.

Little Rock dominated the paint, outscoring Tulsa 30-14. It was the biggest discrepancy in the special stats. The Trojans also won the battle of the boards 35-30. '

HOW IT HAPPENED
IN THE FIRST HALF . . .
It was a slow start on Wednesday. Tulsa could not find a rhythm on the offensive end, but the defense shut the Trojans down for the first 20 minutes. After an early Little Rock bucket, Matt Reed hit a 3-pointer to give Tulsa a lead it would not surrender for the remainder of the half.

A Tyshawn Archie triple with 8:47 to play in the half gave Tulsa some breathing room with an eight-point lead, 17-9. Arche later gave Tulsa its largest lead of the game with a 3-pointer to go ahead 23-14 at the 2:52 mark.

Little Rock scored six of the last eight points to cut the TU lead to 25-20 at the break. The Tulsa defense held Little Rock to 24.1 percent shooting in the half while Tulsa shot 42.1 percent. However, TU turned it over 10 times, losing out on chances to extend its lead. Archie scored 12 in the opening period.

IN THE SECOND HALF . . .
The Trojans opened the second half with a 17-4 run to take a 37-29 lead at the 15:13 mark. Braeden Carrington and Isaiah Barnes hit back-to-back triples on consecutive possessions to cut the lead down to 41-40 with 12:39 to play.

After a media timeout, Tulsa took back the lead, 42-41, on an Archie layup with 10:27 left, and it looked as if TU may have weathered the storm.

Instead, Little Rock took command of the game with a 20-2 run that spanned six minutes and gave the Trojans a 61-44 lead with 4:21 to play. It would serve as the joint-largest lead of the ballgame.

Unlike Saturday, there would be no comeback. Tulsa scored 13 points in the final four minutes but could not get stops on the defensive end as the Trojans held on for the 71-57 win.

GAME NOTES
• The series between Tulsa and Little Rock is tied at 7 apiece.
• The Hurricane has used the same starting lineup for every game this season.
• This was Tulsa's first loss in the Reynolds Center this season and snapped a six-game winning streak dating back to last season.
• First game this season Tulsa has not had at least four players score in double figures.
• Tyshawn Archie scored in double figures for the 16th time in his career.

Next up, Tulsa heads to Chicago to take on Loyola University Chicago. Tipoff against the Ramblers is set for 5 p.m. on Saturday and the game will air on the Marquee Sports Network.