Saturday, December 14
Sunrise, Fla.
1 p.m.
Tulsa
4-7,0-0AAC
75
vs
88
UCF
8-2,0-0Big 12
1
2
F
Tulsa
39
36
75
UCF
45
43
88
Tulsa Comes Up Short at Orange Bowl Classic
12/14/2024 5:16:00 PM | Men's Basketball
TULSA, Okla. – UCF managed to separate from the University of Tulsa in the waning minutes of Saturday afternoon's contest as the Golden Hurricane lost 88-75 at the 30th Annual AutoNation Orange Bowl Classic inside Amerant Bank Arena.
Tulsa (4-7) cut the UCF (8-2) lead to four at the under four timeout, 74-70 and the Hurricane was looking for one more run at the Knights. Instead, UCF scored 10 of the next 12 and closed the game outscoring Tulsa 14-5 to seal the win.
Keaston Willis led all scorers with 22 points, his third 20-point game of the season. The graduate guard was 7-of-13 from the field, including 6-of-0 on 3-pointers. Dwon Odom added 20 points and seven assists. Matt Reed had his best offensive game of the season, scoring 10 points and adding five rebounds.
The Knights had four score in double figures, paced by 20 from Dallan Coleman. Transfer guard Jordan Ivy-Curry added 16 and UCF got 14-point contributions from Keyshawn Hall and Moustapha Thiam.
Tulsa finished the game with shooting clips of 41.1 percent from the floor and 42.9 percent on 3-pointers, hitting nine of its efforts from long range. The Knights connected on 46.3 percent of its shots and knocked down 8 3-pointers at a 36.4 percent rate. Neither team turned it over a ton, with the Hurricane guilty of 11 and UCF turned it over five times. However, Tulsa outscored the Knights 12-11 on points off turnovers.
UCF dominated the paint, outscoring TU 44-24 and 25-13 on second chance points, the largest discrepancy in the ballgame. Despite its second chance points, UCF only won the battle of the boards 37-33. The Hurricane was balanced on the glass, with a game high six from Braeden Carrington and three other Hurricane with five.
Tulsa grabbed its first lead of the game halfway through the opening half after tying the contest multiple times. UCF quickly retook the lead and pushed it to six, but TU kept battling and took the lead again, 33-32, on an Ian Smikle second chance layup at the 3:31 mark of the opening half.
The run turned to 17-1 spanning the two halves as UCF quickly pushed its lead to 10, 49-39, in the early moments of the second half. The Knights pushed the lead to 12 various times in the second 20 and had a 10-point lead with 10:42 to go, yet Tulsa never let the game get away.
Trailing by nine with 9:23 remaining, Willis and Odom combined for eight of the next 10 points to cut the UCF lead to 68-65. Willis knocked down a pair of threes to sandwich an Odom layup.
The Hurricane had the ball down two with 5:32 remaining, but had shots blocked on two opportunities. Odom knocked down a jumper with 3:38 remaining to get the deficit to 74-70 at the final media timeout.
HOW IT HAPPENED
IN THE FIRST HALF…
The game opened with 3-pointers from both teams. First Darius Johnson was good from long range for the Knights before Ian Smikle found Tyshawn Archie to level things on TU's first possession.
Tulsa tied the game five times in the opening half, but it wasn't until 8:38 on the clock that the Hurricane took its first lead of the game. Trailing 22-19, Braeden Carrington raced down the court after pulling down a miss on the defensive end. He pulled up from 3-point range and knocked down the shot to tie the game. After Carrington cleaned up another UCF miss, Dwon Odom found Justin Amadi for a cutting layup to get TU a 24-22 lead with 8:38 on the clock.
UCF retook the lead with a 3-pointer with just over seven minutes remaining, jumping ahead 27-26. The Knights would rattle off eight straight to go ahead 32-26.
Keaston Willis scored eight points to power a 12-0 Tulsa run over the next 1:33 to jump ahead. Odom got things started with a pair of free throws. Willis knocked down his first three, and then Ian Smikle dropped in a layup to give TU the lead, 33-32. Not done, Willis connected again on a 3-pointer and then got a steal on the other end of the court. His outlet found Carrington, who returned the favor as Willis laid it in to force a UCF timeout with Tulsa holding its largest lead of the game, 38-32.
UCF came out on fire after the called timeout, outscoring Tulsa 13-1 over the final 2:16 of the opening half to take a 45-39 lead into the break. The Hurricane missed all three of its field goal attempts and had a turnover, while UCF shot 4-of-5 from the field with three 3-pointers and a pair of free throws. Tulsa's only points in the final minutes came on an Archie free throw.
Willis led the Hurricane with 11 points in the first half including 3-of-3 from 3-point range. Odom scored nine and dished out five assists, while Braeden Carrington had five rebounds.
Tulsa shot 51.9 percent from the field in the half and was 6-of-11 (54.5 percent) on 3-pointers. The Knights also shot the ball well with clips of 50.0 percent from the floor and 43.8 percent from long range, connecting on 7 3-pointers.
IN THE SECOND HALF …
UCF's momentum to end the half continued with the first two buckets of the second period as the half-spanning run reached 17-1 and the Knights took a 49-39 lead.
The Hurricane didn't let the deficit get out of hand and trailed 66-57 with a little under 10 minutes to play. Willis and Odom again powered a Tulsa run as an Odom layup was sandwiched between two 3-pointers from Willis as the Hurricane was suddenly within three, 68-65 with 7:36 to play.
TU got the game as close as two, 70-68 after Odom knocked down a pair of free throws with 5:55 to play. After a UCF miss, the Hurricane got the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead, but UCF's towering 7'2" center Moustapha Thiam recorded a pair of blocks and the Knights responded by getting the lead back to six.
Odom knocked down a jumper to bring the score to 74-70, which would remain the score heading into the final media timeout with 3:16 to play. The Knights came out and knocked down a pair of free throws to start a 10-2 run that saw UCF go ahead 84-72 with less than a minute left. Jordan Ivy-Curry put an exclamation point on the run with a 3-pointer in the corner, UCF's only triple of the half.
Willis connected on his sixth 3-pointer of the game to get the lead back into single digits, but a pair of free throws and then an unguarded dunk ended the contest.
After shooting above 50 percent in the opening half, TU was held to 33.3 percent from the floor and 30.0 percent on 3-pointers in the final 20 minutes. UCF also cooled off to 42.4 percent and 16.7 on 3-pointers, hitting just the lone 3-pointer. Willis and Odom each scored 11 in the second half to lead the Hurricane.
GAME NOTES
• This was the 30th meeting all-time between UCF and Tulsa in a series now tied 15-15.
• Tulsa is 0-2 in Orange Bowl Classics, falling to Florida State in 2012.
• Keaston Willis had his seventh double figure scoring game of the season and 93nd of his career … he recorded at least 20 points for the third time this season and 23rd in his career.
• Dwon Odom scored in double figures for the ninth time this season and 61st in his career … this was Odom's second 20-point performance this season.
• Tulsa is now 0-7 on the year when trailing at halftime.
The Golden Hurricane will take another week before hosting Mississippi Valley State in the Reynolds Center on Saturday, December 21. Tipoff against the Delta Devils is set for 2 p.m. (CT).
Tulsa (4-7) cut the UCF (8-2) lead to four at the under four timeout, 74-70 and the Hurricane was looking for one more run at the Knights. Instead, UCF scored 10 of the next 12 and closed the game outscoring Tulsa 14-5 to seal the win.
Keaston Willis led all scorers with 22 points, his third 20-point game of the season. The graduate guard was 7-of-13 from the field, including 6-of-0 on 3-pointers. Dwon Odom added 20 points and seven assists. Matt Reed had his best offensive game of the season, scoring 10 points and adding five rebounds.
The Knights had four score in double figures, paced by 20 from Dallan Coleman. Transfer guard Jordan Ivy-Curry added 16 and UCF got 14-point contributions from Keyshawn Hall and Moustapha Thiam.
Tulsa finished the game with shooting clips of 41.1 percent from the floor and 42.9 percent on 3-pointers, hitting nine of its efforts from long range. The Knights connected on 46.3 percent of its shots and knocked down 8 3-pointers at a 36.4 percent rate. Neither team turned it over a ton, with the Hurricane guilty of 11 and UCF turned it over five times. However, Tulsa outscored the Knights 12-11 on points off turnovers.
UCF dominated the paint, outscoring TU 44-24 and 25-13 on second chance points, the largest discrepancy in the ballgame. Despite its second chance points, UCF only won the battle of the boards 37-33. The Hurricane was balanced on the glass, with a game high six from Braeden Carrington and three other Hurricane with five.
Tulsa grabbed its first lead of the game halfway through the opening half after tying the contest multiple times. UCF quickly retook the lead and pushed it to six, but TU kept battling and took the lead again, 33-32, on an Ian Smikle second chance layup at the 3:31 mark of the opening half.
The run turned to 17-1 spanning the two halves as UCF quickly pushed its lead to 10, 49-39, in the early moments of the second half. The Knights pushed the lead to 12 various times in the second 20 and had a 10-point lead with 10:42 to go, yet Tulsa never let the game get away.
Trailing by nine with 9:23 remaining, Willis and Odom combined for eight of the next 10 points to cut the UCF lead to 68-65. Willis knocked down a pair of threes to sandwich an Odom layup.
The Hurricane had the ball down two with 5:32 remaining, but had shots blocked on two opportunities. Odom knocked down a jumper with 3:38 remaining to get the deficit to 74-70 at the final media timeout.
HOW IT HAPPENED
IN THE FIRST HALF…
The game opened with 3-pointers from both teams. First Darius Johnson was good from long range for the Knights before Ian Smikle found Tyshawn Archie to level things on TU's first possession.
Tulsa tied the game five times in the opening half, but it wasn't until 8:38 on the clock that the Hurricane took its first lead of the game. Trailing 22-19, Braeden Carrington raced down the court after pulling down a miss on the defensive end. He pulled up from 3-point range and knocked down the shot to tie the game. After Carrington cleaned up another UCF miss, Dwon Odom found Justin Amadi for a cutting layup to get TU a 24-22 lead with 8:38 on the clock.
UCF retook the lead with a 3-pointer with just over seven minutes remaining, jumping ahead 27-26. The Knights would rattle off eight straight to go ahead 32-26.
Keaston Willis scored eight points to power a 12-0 Tulsa run over the next 1:33 to jump ahead. Odom got things started with a pair of free throws. Willis knocked down his first three, and then Ian Smikle dropped in a layup to give TU the lead, 33-32. Not done, Willis connected again on a 3-pointer and then got a steal on the other end of the court. His outlet found Carrington, who returned the favor as Willis laid it in to force a UCF timeout with Tulsa holding its largest lead of the game, 38-32.
UCF came out on fire after the called timeout, outscoring Tulsa 13-1 over the final 2:16 of the opening half to take a 45-39 lead into the break. The Hurricane missed all three of its field goal attempts and had a turnover, while UCF shot 4-of-5 from the field with three 3-pointers and a pair of free throws. Tulsa's only points in the final minutes came on an Archie free throw.
Willis led the Hurricane with 11 points in the first half including 3-of-3 from 3-point range. Odom scored nine and dished out five assists, while Braeden Carrington had five rebounds.
Tulsa shot 51.9 percent from the field in the half and was 6-of-11 (54.5 percent) on 3-pointers. The Knights also shot the ball well with clips of 50.0 percent from the floor and 43.8 percent from long range, connecting on 7 3-pointers.
IN THE SECOND HALF …
UCF's momentum to end the half continued with the first two buckets of the second period as the half-spanning run reached 17-1 and the Knights took a 49-39 lead.
The Hurricane didn't let the deficit get out of hand and trailed 66-57 with a little under 10 minutes to play. Willis and Odom again powered a Tulsa run as an Odom layup was sandwiched between two 3-pointers from Willis as the Hurricane was suddenly within three, 68-65 with 7:36 to play.
TU got the game as close as two, 70-68 after Odom knocked down a pair of free throws with 5:55 to play. After a UCF miss, the Hurricane got the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead, but UCF's towering 7'2" center Moustapha Thiam recorded a pair of blocks and the Knights responded by getting the lead back to six.
Odom knocked down a jumper to bring the score to 74-70, which would remain the score heading into the final media timeout with 3:16 to play. The Knights came out and knocked down a pair of free throws to start a 10-2 run that saw UCF go ahead 84-72 with less than a minute left. Jordan Ivy-Curry put an exclamation point on the run with a 3-pointer in the corner, UCF's only triple of the half.
Willis connected on his sixth 3-pointer of the game to get the lead back into single digits, but a pair of free throws and then an unguarded dunk ended the contest.
After shooting above 50 percent in the opening half, TU was held to 33.3 percent from the floor and 30.0 percent on 3-pointers in the final 20 minutes. UCF also cooled off to 42.4 percent and 16.7 on 3-pointers, hitting just the lone 3-pointer. Willis and Odom each scored 11 in the second half to lead the Hurricane.
GAME NOTES
• This was the 30th meeting all-time between UCF and Tulsa in a series now tied 15-15.
• Tulsa is 0-2 in Orange Bowl Classics, falling to Florida State in 2012.
• Keaston Willis had his seventh double figure scoring game of the season and 93nd of his career … he recorded at least 20 points for the third time this season and 23rd in his career.
• Dwon Odom scored in double figures for the ninth time this season and 61st in his career … this was Odom's second 20-point performance this season.
• Tulsa is now 0-7 on the year when trailing at halftime.
The Golden Hurricane will take another week before hosting Mississippi Valley State in the Reynolds Center on Saturday, December 21. Tipoff against the Delta Devils is set for 2 p.m. (CT).
Team Stats
Tulsa
UCF
FG%
.421
.463
3FG%
.429
.364
FT%
.692
.750
RB
33
37
TO
11
5
STL
4
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
22
FGM
7
3FGM
6
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
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