Tuesday, March 4
7 p.m.
Tulsa
11-19,5-12AAC
77
vs
81
Temple
16-14,8-9AAC
1
2
F
Temple
40
41
81
Tulsa
32
45
77
Photo by: Joshua Rogers
Tulsa Falls Short on Senior Night
3/4/2025 11:48:00 PM | Men's Basketball
TULSA, Okla. – Tied at 74 with 1:24 to play, the Temple Owls outscored the University of Tulsa men's basketball team 7-3 as the Golden Hurricane fell 81-77 in the Donald W. Reynolds Center Tuesday evening.
Tulsa (11-19, 5-12 The American) had a chance to tie the game with the eight seconds remaining, but an errant pass led to a Temple (16-14, 8-9 The American) steal, where the Owls iced the game at the line. TU dropped its third straight game and finishes the 2024-25 season 8-9 in the Reynolds Center. Temple wins its second straight game after dropping six in a row, and its first road victory since a 73-70 win at Rice on Jan. 11.
Playing their final games in front of the Tulsa fans, graduate guards Keaston Willis and Dwon Odom led the Hurricane in scoring. Willis scored 22 to lead all scorers, while Odom added 14 along with seven assists. Ian Smikle and Isaiah Barnes scored 13 and 12, respectively to round out Tulsa's double-digit scorers. Smikle grabbed six rebounds as well.
Temple got 20 from Zion Stanford and 15 out of Steve Settle. Stanford completed an all-around performance with seven rebounds and a team-high five assists, while Settle's eight boards topped the game.
Overall, the numbers were similar. Tulsa was 48.1 percent from the floor and 42.1 percent on 3-pointers, knocking down eight triples, while the Owls shot 46.6 percent on all field goals and made six 3-pointers at a 42.9 percent clip. Tulsa had 15 assists to Temple's 10, and each team only turned it over six times.
The biggest discrepancy was on the glass, where the Owls dominated 38-29, including 12 offensive rebounds. However, Tulsa had 15 second chance points to Temple's 11. The Owls also were better at the charity stripe, hitting on 21-of-26 (80.8 percent) while Tulsa was 17-of-26 (65.4) on its free throws. In the last 6:01 of the game, Temple made 11-of-12 (91.7 percent) from the foul line. The lone miss was with two seconds remaining and the game in hand.
HOW IT HAPPENED
IN THE FIRST HALF …
It took Tulsa a little more than three minutes to find its first basket on a 3-pointer from Isaiah Barnes to end what was a Temple 6-0 run out of the gate. Willis quickly added his first of four to tie the game on the next TU possession.
A couple of minutes later, Willis gave the Hurricane its first lead of the evening with a 3-pointer to go ahead 11-8. On the next possession, Isaiah Barnes split a pair of free throws to push the lead to 12-8 with 13:26 on the clock. That would be the largest lead of the night for the Hurricane.
The lead would bounce back and forth with a few ties in between until the 6:39 mark. Tulsa was ahead 21-20 until a Temple layup put the Owls up 22-21, a lead they would not relinquish until more than midway through the second half.
That layup started a 7-0 run that over the next two minutes to go ahead 27-21. That turned into a larger 16-2 run as the Temple lead quickly bloomed to 13, 36-23 with 2:32 remaining in the half. That would serve as the largest lead for the Owls. Tulsa was 1-of-5 in that stretch with a turnover.
Temple looked poised to head to the lockers with a double-digit lead, up 40-29 following a Stanford driving layup with 12 seconds left in the half. However, Braeden Carrington made a nice pass out of pressure to find Barnes, who connected on his second 3-pointer of the half to send Tulsa to the lockers down 40-32.
IN THE SECOND HALF …
Tulsa spanned the halves with a 9-0 run, scoring the first six of the second half. The initial burst included a 3-pointer from Willis as well as a free throw. The Hurricane kept the game close, getting the lead down to a single point on five different occasions, but TU could not get over the hump.
That was, until the 9:52 mark when Carrington pulled down a rebound and Odom was fouled on the fast break. After making both free throws, Tulsa led 55-54. A quick 5-0 Temple run put the Owls back up four, but Tulsa continued to claw away.
Willis put Tulsa back ahead with a driving layup, drawing a foul and completing the traditional 3-point play to give TU a 69-67 advantage with 4:30 to play. Tulsa would hold that lead for nearly the next two minutes. Trailing 72-69, Quante Berry pulled up in transition and splashed a straightaway three, possibly the biggest shot of the night. He had gone 0-of-5 from the field prior to that shot.
Smikle got a tip-in layup at the 2:06 mark to give the Hurricane a 74-72 advantage, but that would be Tulsa's last field goal of the game. Temple tied the game at the line and then took the lead with a layup with 54 seconds to play.
Tulsa split a pair of free throws to halve the lead with 32 seconds left. From there, the teams traded free throws until Tulsa got the ball with eight seconds remaining down 80-77. An attempt to hurry down the court and find a shot was thwarted as a pass attempt for Willis was high and Temple ended up with the ball. The Owls hit the first free throw to go ahead four and missed the second, but it didn't matter as Time ran out and the Owls escaped with the 81-77 win.
GAME NOTES
• Tulsa falls to 13-9 against the Owls and 7-3 in the Reynolds Center.
• Temple has won three straight in the Reynolds Center.
• Keaston Willis scored in double figures for the 20th time this season and 106th of his career … it was his fourth 20-point game this season and 24th of his career.
• Willis now has 2,023 career points.
• His 387 career triples are tied for 39th on the NCAA all-time list.
• Willis has 87 made 3-pointers this season, fifth-most in a single season in Tulsa history.
• Dwon Odom scored in double figures for the 24th time this season and 76th in his career.
• Odom is two points shy of 1,500 for his career.
• Odom has 160 assists this season, placing him in most in a single season at Tulsa.
• Isaiah Barnes scored in double figures for the 12th time this season and 25th in his career.
• Ian Smikle scored in double figures for the fifth time in his freshman campaign.
UP NEXT
Tulsa will close the regular season against bitter rivals Wichita State on Sunday afternoon. Tipoff in Charles Koch Arena is set for 1 p.m. and the game will air on ESPN+.
Tulsa (11-19, 5-12 The American) had a chance to tie the game with the eight seconds remaining, but an errant pass led to a Temple (16-14, 8-9 The American) steal, where the Owls iced the game at the line. TU dropped its third straight game and finishes the 2024-25 season 8-9 in the Reynolds Center. Temple wins its second straight game after dropping six in a row, and its first road victory since a 73-70 win at Rice on Jan. 11.
Playing their final games in front of the Tulsa fans, graduate guards Keaston Willis and Dwon Odom led the Hurricane in scoring. Willis scored 22 to lead all scorers, while Odom added 14 along with seven assists. Ian Smikle and Isaiah Barnes scored 13 and 12, respectively to round out Tulsa's double-digit scorers. Smikle grabbed six rebounds as well.
Temple got 20 from Zion Stanford and 15 out of Steve Settle. Stanford completed an all-around performance with seven rebounds and a team-high five assists, while Settle's eight boards topped the game.
Overall, the numbers were similar. Tulsa was 48.1 percent from the floor and 42.1 percent on 3-pointers, knocking down eight triples, while the Owls shot 46.6 percent on all field goals and made six 3-pointers at a 42.9 percent clip. Tulsa had 15 assists to Temple's 10, and each team only turned it over six times.
The biggest discrepancy was on the glass, where the Owls dominated 38-29, including 12 offensive rebounds. However, Tulsa had 15 second chance points to Temple's 11. The Owls also were better at the charity stripe, hitting on 21-of-26 (80.8 percent) while Tulsa was 17-of-26 (65.4) on its free throws. In the last 6:01 of the game, Temple made 11-of-12 (91.7 percent) from the foul line. The lone miss was with two seconds remaining and the game in hand.
HOW IT HAPPENED
IN THE FIRST HALF …
It took Tulsa a little more than three minutes to find its first basket on a 3-pointer from Isaiah Barnes to end what was a Temple 6-0 run out of the gate. Willis quickly added his first of four to tie the game on the next TU possession.
A couple of minutes later, Willis gave the Hurricane its first lead of the evening with a 3-pointer to go ahead 11-8. On the next possession, Isaiah Barnes split a pair of free throws to push the lead to 12-8 with 13:26 on the clock. That would be the largest lead of the night for the Hurricane.
The lead would bounce back and forth with a few ties in between until the 6:39 mark. Tulsa was ahead 21-20 until a Temple layup put the Owls up 22-21, a lead they would not relinquish until more than midway through the second half.
That layup started a 7-0 run that over the next two minutes to go ahead 27-21. That turned into a larger 16-2 run as the Temple lead quickly bloomed to 13, 36-23 with 2:32 remaining in the half. That would serve as the largest lead for the Owls. Tulsa was 1-of-5 in that stretch with a turnover.
Temple looked poised to head to the lockers with a double-digit lead, up 40-29 following a Stanford driving layup with 12 seconds left in the half. However, Braeden Carrington made a nice pass out of pressure to find Barnes, who connected on his second 3-pointer of the half to send Tulsa to the lockers down 40-32.
IN THE SECOND HALF …
Tulsa spanned the halves with a 9-0 run, scoring the first six of the second half. The initial burst included a 3-pointer from Willis as well as a free throw. The Hurricane kept the game close, getting the lead down to a single point on five different occasions, but TU could not get over the hump.
That was, until the 9:52 mark when Carrington pulled down a rebound and Odom was fouled on the fast break. After making both free throws, Tulsa led 55-54. A quick 5-0 Temple run put the Owls back up four, but Tulsa continued to claw away.
Willis put Tulsa back ahead with a driving layup, drawing a foul and completing the traditional 3-point play to give TU a 69-67 advantage with 4:30 to play. Tulsa would hold that lead for nearly the next two minutes. Trailing 72-69, Quante Berry pulled up in transition and splashed a straightaway three, possibly the biggest shot of the night. He had gone 0-of-5 from the field prior to that shot.
Smikle got a tip-in layup at the 2:06 mark to give the Hurricane a 74-72 advantage, but that would be Tulsa's last field goal of the game. Temple tied the game at the line and then took the lead with a layup with 54 seconds to play.
Tulsa split a pair of free throws to halve the lead with 32 seconds left. From there, the teams traded free throws until Tulsa got the ball with eight seconds remaining down 80-77. An attempt to hurry down the court and find a shot was thwarted as a pass attempt for Willis was high and Temple ended up with the ball. The Owls hit the first free throw to go ahead four and missed the second, but it didn't matter as Time ran out and the Owls escaped with the 81-77 win.
GAME NOTES
• Tulsa falls to 13-9 against the Owls and 7-3 in the Reynolds Center.
• Temple has won three straight in the Reynolds Center.
• Keaston Willis scored in double figures for the 20th time this season and 106th of his career … it was his fourth 20-point game this season and 24th of his career.
• Willis now has 2,023 career points.
• His 387 career triples are tied for 39th on the NCAA all-time list.
• Willis has 87 made 3-pointers this season, fifth-most in a single season in Tulsa history.
• Dwon Odom scored in double figures for the 24th time this season and 76th in his career.
• Odom is two points shy of 1,500 for his career.
• Odom has 160 assists this season, placing him in most in a single season at Tulsa.
• Isaiah Barnes scored in double figures for the 12th time this season and 25th in his career.
• Ian Smikle scored in double figures for the fifth time in his freshman campaign.
UP NEXT
Tulsa will close the regular season against bitter rivals Wichita State on Sunday afternoon. Tipoff in Charles Koch Arena is set for 1 p.m. and the game will air on ESPN+.
Team Stats
Temple
Tulsa
FG%
.466
.481
3FG%
.429
.421
FT%
.808
.654
RB
38
29
TO
6
6
STL
4
5
Game Leaders
Pts
22
FGM
7
3FGM
4
FTM
4
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
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