Saturday, February 15
5 p.m.
Tulsa
11-15,5-8AAC
80
vs
76
UTSA
10-15,4-9AAC
1
2
F
UTSA
23
53
76
Tulsa
40
40
80
Photo by: Bill Powell
Tulsa Holds Off UTSA 80-76
2/16/2025 12:57:00 AM | Men's Basketball
TULSA, Okla. – After building a large halftime lead, the Golden Hurricane staved off UTSA's comeback attempt in an 80-76 win in the Donald W. Reynolds Center on Saturday evening.
Tulsa (11-15, 5-8 The American) completed the regular season sweep over the Roadrunners (10-15, 4-9 The American).
TU built a 17-point halftime lead, but UTSA chipped away at the Tulsa advantage in the second half, eventually getting within as close as three points thanks to back-to-back 3-pointers in the final minute. However, Tulsa knocked down 11-of-16 from the line and made 2-of-3 field goals in the final five minutes to keep the Roadrunners at bay. Despite the close finish, Tulsa led the game wire-to-wire.
Four Hurricane scored in double figures to power the TU offense. Graduate guard Keaston Willis scored 19 to pace the team, adding four rebounds and four assists. He knocked down 11-of-13 at the foul line, a season-high for makes. Isaiah Barnes added 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting, a team-high eight rebounds and also dished out four assists.
Dwon Odom scored 16, including a perfect 8-of-8 at the charity stripe. The conference's assists leader recorded seven of the team's 18 dimes. Jared Garcia scored 16, making 7-of-8 from the floor.
Raekwon Horton scored 20 to pace the Roadrunners and three in double figures. Primo Spears, who scored 41 in the first game, dropped 18 on Saturday, and Marcus Millender recorded 19 points.
For the game, the Hurricane shot 53.2 percent from the floor while holding the Roadrunners to 34.4 percent. UTSA made the most of 14 offensive rebounds, scoring 13 second chance points.
Both teams shot the ball well from the foul line. UTSA leads the conference in free throw shooting and made 24-of-31 (77.4 percent), while Tulsa finished 23-of-29 (79.3 percent) for the night.
HOW IT HAPPENED
IN THE FIRST HALF…
The Hurricane opened the game on fire, making nine of its first 10 shots to take a 22-10 advantage just under seven minutes into the contest. Willis opened proceedings with a 3-pointer. After Tulsa's only miss of the opening stretch, Barnes knocked down the first of two 3-pointers in the first seven minutes.
UTSA started to chip into the lead, getting back within five multiple times over the next four minutes, the last at 25-20 with 9:34 remaining in the opening stanza. A Garcia dunk and Willis triple immediately got the lead back to 10 and start a 15-1 run over 8:44 of game time. The Roadrunners made just one free throw during that stretch as Tulsa took a 40-21 advantage.
The Roadrunners knocked down a pair of free throws on their final possession of the half to go into the lockers down 40-23. UTSA's last field goal of the half came with 10:17 remaining to cut the TU lead to 23-18.
UTSA was held to just 20 percent (5-of-25) in the opening half. Meanwhile, TU shot 60.7 percent (17-of-28) continuing its hot shooting from the second half at Temple. Both Barnes and Garcia scored 10 points in the half.
IN THE SECOND HALF …
In the first meeting with the Roadrunners, Tulsa overturned a second half deficit to take down the Roadrunners, and UTSA attempted to return the favor in the second meeting. The first possessions were an indicator UTSA wasn't about to give up easily, knocking down a 3-pointer off the bat.
The Hurricane struggled to cope with the intense pressure UTSA's defense brought early in the second half, turning it over four times in the first four minutes as the Roadrunners got the lead down to 10, 47-37 at the under 16 media timeout.
After the Tulsa lead hovered around the 10 to 12-point mark, UTSA broke through with a little under 13 minutes to play. Five straight points took the Tulsa lead from 10 to five, the closest the game had been since 9:34 in the first half.
The Roadrunners got the lead down to four with 8:41 to play, but by 4:41 mark, a pair of free throws each from Willis and Odom had pushed the lead back to 11, 67-56. It looked as if TU was poised to close the game out, but UTSA kept coming back.
A 10-point advantage, 70-60, with 3:17 left became seven with a UTSA 3-pointer. Down the stretch, the Roadrunners made three 3-pointers, including back-to-back triples from Spears that helped turn an 8-point Tulsa lead to a 3-point advantage, 77-74 with 16 seconds left.
However, Willis made 3-of-4 from the foul line to help put the game away.
UTSA doubled up Tulsa's made field goals, making 16-of-36 (44.4 percent) to Tulsa's 8-of-19 (42.1 percent). The Roadrunners also made seven 3-pointers in the second half at a 43.8 percent clip, while Tulsa made 2-of-7 (28.6 percent). Willis scored 11 and Odom dropped 10. Tulsa turned it over seven times, turning into 14 UTSA points in the second stanza.
The Hurricane won the game at the charity stripe, making 22-of-27 (81.5 percent), which was enough to win the game.
GAME NOTES
• Tulsa improves to 9-1 against UTSA all-time.
• TU moves to 8-0 in Tulsa and 6-0 in the Reynolds Center.
• The Hurricane is 9-1 this season when scoring at least 80 points.
• UTSA's 31 free throw attempts was the second most this season by a Tulsa opponent behind Missouri State's 51 attempts.
• Keaston Willis scored in double figures for the 17th time this season and 103rd in his career.
• Dwon Odom scored in double figures for the 22nd time this season and 74th in his career.
• Isaiah Barnes scored in double figures for the 10th time this season and 23rd of his career.
• Jared Garcia scored in double figures for the 6th time this season and 19th in his career.
• Keaston Willis has 75 made 3-pointers this season and 375 for his career, tying him for 49th all-time in the NCAA.
• Odom leads the American in assists with 139 this season.
The Golden Hurricane heads on the road for a pair of games next week, starting with the lone regular season meeting with North Texas on Wednesday. The Hurricane will wrap the two-game trip with Rice on Saturday.
Tulsa (11-15, 5-8 The American) completed the regular season sweep over the Roadrunners (10-15, 4-9 The American).
TU built a 17-point halftime lead, but UTSA chipped away at the Tulsa advantage in the second half, eventually getting within as close as three points thanks to back-to-back 3-pointers in the final minute. However, Tulsa knocked down 11-of-16 from the line and made 2-of-3 field goals in the final five minutes to keep the Roadrunners at bay. Despite the close finish, Tulsa led the game wire-to-wire.
Four Hurricane scored in double figures to power the TU offense. Graduate guard Keaston Willis scored 19 to pace the team, adding four rebounds and four assists. He knocked down 11-of-13 at the foul line, a season-high for makes. Isaiah Barnes added 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting, a team-high eight rebounds and also dished out four assists.
Dwon Odom scored 16, including a perfect 8-of-8 at the charity stripe. The conference's assists leader recorded seven of the team's 18 dimes. Jared Garcia scored 16, making 7-of-8 from the floor.
Raekwon Horton scored 20 to pace the Roadrunners and three in double figures. Primo Spears, who scored 41 in the first game, dropped 18 on Saturday, and Marcus Millender recorded 19 points.
For the game, the Hurricane shot 53.2 percent from the floor while holding the Roadrunners to 34.4 percent. UTSA made the most of 14 offensive rebounds, scoring 13 second chance points.
Both teams shot the ball well from the foul line. UTSA leads the conference in free throw shooting and made 24-of-31 (77.4 percent), while Tulsa finished 23-of-29 (79.3 percent) for the night.
HOW IT HAPPENED
IN THE FIRST HALF…
The Hurricane opened the game on fire, making nine of its first 10 shots to take a 22-10 advantage just under seven minutes into the contest. Willis opened proceedings with a 3-pointer. After Tulsa's only miss of the opening stretch, Barnes knocked down the first of two 3-pointers in the first seven minutes.
UTSA started to chip into the lead, getting back within five multiple times over the next four minutes, the last at 25-20 with 9:34 remaining in the opening stanza. A Garcia dunk and Willis triple immediately got the lead back to 10 and start a 15-1 run over 8:44 of game time. The Roadrunners made just one free throw during that stretch as Tulsa took a 40-21 advantage.
The Roadrunners knocked down a pair of free throws on their final possession of the half to go into the lockers down 40-23. UTSA's last field goal of the half came with 10:17 remaining to cut the TU lead to 23-18.
UTSA was held to just 20 percent (5-of-25) in the opening half. Meanwhile, TU shot 60.7 percent (17-of-28) continuing its hot shooting from the second half at Temple. Both Barnes and Garcia scored 10 points in the half.
IN THE SECOND HALF …
In the first meeting with the Roadrunners, Tulsa overturned a second half deficit to take down the Roadrunners, and UTSA attempted to return the favor in the second meeting. The first possessions were an indicator UTSA wasn't about to give up easily, knocking down a 3-pointer off the bat.
The Hurricane struggled to cope with the intense pressure UTSA's defense brought early in the second half, turning it over four times in the first four minutes as the Roadrunners got the lead down to 10, 47-37 at the under 16 media timeout.
After the Tulsa lead hovered around the 10 to 12-point mark, UTSA broke through with a little under 13 minutes to play. Five straight points took the Tulsa lead from 10 to five, the closest the game had been since 9:34 in the first half.
The Roadrunners got the lead down to four with 8:41 to play, but by 4:41 mark, a pair of free throws each from Willis and Odom had pushed the lead back to 11, 67-56. It looked as if TU was poised to close the game out, but UTSA kept coming back.
A 10-point advantage, 70-60, with 3:17 left became seven with a UTSA 3-pointer. Down the stretch, the Roadrunners made three 3-pointers, including back-to-back triples from Spears that helped turn an 8-point Tulsa lead to a 3-point advantage, 77-74 with 16 seconds left.
However, Willis made 3-of-4 from the foul line to help put the game away.
UTSA doubled up Tulsa's made field goals, making 16-of-36 (44.4 percent) to Tulsa's 8-of-19 (42.1 percent). The Roadrunners also made seven 3-pointers in the second half at a 43.8 percent clip, while Tulsa made 2-of-7 (28.6 percent). Willis scored 11 and Odom dropped 10. Tulsa turned it over seven times, turning into 14 UTSA points in the second stanza.
The Hurricane won the game at the charity stripe, making 22-of-27 (81.5 percent), which was enough to win the game.
GAME NOTES
• Tulsa improves to 9-1 against UTSA all-time.
• TU moves to 8-0 in Tulsa and 6-0 in the Reynolds Center.
• The Hurricane is 9-1 this season when scoring at least 80 points.
• UTSA's 31 free throw attempts was the second most this season by a Tulsa opponent behind Missouri State's 51 attempts.
• Keaston Willis scored in double figures for the 17th time this season and 103rd in his career.
• Dwon Odom scored in double figures for the 22nd time this season and 74th in his career.
• Isaiah Barnes scored in double figures for the 10th time this season and 23rd of his career.
• Jared Garcia scored in double figures for the 6th time this season and 19th in his career.
• Keaston Willis has 75 made 3-pointers this season and 375 for his career, tying him for 49th all-time in the NCAA.
• Odom leads the American in assists with 139 this season.
The Golden Hurricane heads on the road for a pair of games next week, starting with the lone regular season meeting with North Texas on Wednesday. The Hurricane will wrap the two-game trip with Rice on Saturday.
Team Stats
UTSA
Tulsa
FG%
.344
.532
3FG%
.323
.389
FT%
.774
.793
RB
35
33
TO
11
15
STL
10
9
Game Leaders
Pts
19
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
11
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
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