Tulsa Dominates OT for a 93-82 Win Over Rice

Saturday, February 17

2:00 PM

Tulsa

13-12,4-9AAC

Rice

9-16,3-9AAC

OT 1

Rice

Tulsa

Tulsa Dominates OT for a 93-82 Win Over Rice

2/17/2024 5:27:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score GAME BOOK (PDF)ERIC KONKOL PRESS CONFERENCE PJ HAGGERTY PRESS CONFERENCE

Haggerty goes for career-high 30 points

TULSA, Okla. –– PJ Haggerty scored a career-high 30 points to lead Tulsa (13-12, 4-9 AAC) to a 93-82 win over the Rice Owls (9-16, 3-9 AAC) on Legends Day Saturday afternoon at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.

The score was tied at 79 at the end of 40 minutes, thus forcing overtime. Tulsa scored the first nine points of the overtime period for an 88-79 lead and outscored the Owls 14-3 in the extra frame for the victory

The nation's freshman leading scorer Haggerty connected on 9-of-15 from the field, 1-of-2 from three-point range and 11-of-14 free throws, while adding 10 rebounds for his first career double-double.

Jared Garcia scored 14 points, Isaiah Barnes added 12 and Cobe Williams had 11 for the Hurricane. Rice was led by Travis Evee with 21 and Max Fiedler with 20 points.

It was a game that saw 26 lead changes and 12 ties as Tulsa led for 22:20 of the contest and Rice 16:48.

"I was very concerned about playing Rice because of all their movement, their action, and how you have to be so alert all the time," said Tulsa Head Coach Eric Konkol. "Give Rice credit, they're one of the toughest covers. The way that they play, it's so unique. The way that they shoot it and drive it, and how (Max) Fiedler orchestrates everything.

"But I'm really proud of our team for sticking with it and finding a way. We didn't defend great, but to see 20 assists and five turnovers is a real big thing for us. We're really proud of our guys."

The largest lead of the game was six points, once in the first half by Rice and twice in the second half, both times by Tulsa. Rice had its biggest second-half margin of three points when the score was 70-67 at the 7:25 mark.

Haggerty's layup with 0:52 remaining in the game evened the score at 79. Two more tries for Rice missed and a Haggerty jumper in the paint also fell short to force the OT period.

Tulsa ended the game shooting 46-percent from both the field and three-point range, while knocking down 22-of-26 free throws for 85 percent. The Hurricane dished out 20 assists and turned the ball over just five time for a season low. Rice was 45-percent from the field but was limited to 30-percent from behind the arc, making 6-of-20.

HOW IT HAPPENED
IN THE FIRST HALF . . .
Jared Garcia hit the game's first points with a 3-pointer.

Rice took a 5-point lead at the 16:24 mark after connecting on three straight treys for am 11-6 lead.

The largest lead of the half was Rice's six-point lead, 31-25, at the 7:30 mark.

Tulsa went on a 7-0 run for a 32-31 lead on two layups by PJ Haggerty and a three-pointer by Isaiah Barnes.

The Hurricane was ahead 42-39 on a Mohamed Keita layup before Rice scored the next three points for a 43-42 lead. PJ Haggerty's free throw made it a 43-43 halftime score.

IN THE SECOND HALF . . .
Rice opened the half scoring the first four points for a 47-43 lead before the Hurricane jumped ahead 48-47 on a Matt Reed layup at the 16:33 mark.

Tulsa increased the lead to six points twice in the next two minutes before the Owls retook the lead at 56-55 on a seven-point run.

Cobe Williams three-pointer at the 3:53 mark gave the Hurricane a 76-72 lead, but Rice again marched back with a 5-0 run to take a 77-76 lead with 1:58 remaining in the contest.

With Rice leading 79-77, Haggerty's layup at the 0:59 mark knotted the score at 79

OVERTIME . . .
Tulsa scored the first nine points of overtime to take an 88-79 as Barnes began the run with a three-pointer … Williams and Haggerty connected for four free throws and a Haggerty layup gave Tulsa the nine-point advantage

Rice's first points in the extra session didn't come until the 1:43 mark on 1-of-2 free throws.

Williams' trey at the 1:14 mark pushed Tulsa's lead from eight to 11 points.

The Hurricane outscored Rice 14-3 in overtime for the 11-point win.

GAME NOTES
• Tulsa improved to 13-12 overall on the season and 4-9 in AAC games.
• Tulsa was tied at halftime for the first time this season.
• Freshman redshirt PJ Haggerty had a career-high 30 points and 10 rebounds for his first career double-double.
• It was Haggerty's his 24^th double-figure scoring game of the season and his 20^th straight.
• It was also Haggerty's 15^th 20-point scoring games, including his 6^th in the last seven games.
• Haggerty has reached 505 points this season become the first 500-point scorer in a single season since James Woodard scored 528 points in the 2013-14 season.
• Sophomore Isaiah Barnes had his 12^th double-digit scoring game with 12 points.
• Junior Jared Garcia tallied his ninth double-figure scoring game of the year with 14 points, and for the first time in the since the last time Tulsa and Rice played
• Cobe Williams scored 11 points for the 19^th time this season and the 72^nd time in his career.

Tulsa will be on the road against Wichita State this Wednesday, Feb. 14, for an 8 p.m. (CT) tipoff on ESPNU. Tulsa returns to the Reynolds Center next Saturday, Feb. 24, for a 7 p.m. game against the Charlotte 49ers. All Tulsa basketball games can be heard on Big Country 99.5 FM Radio.