TU Comes Up Short To Southern Miss In Overtime

Tulsa overcame a 15 point second-half deficit, but still fell short Southern Miss 77-69 in overtime Wednesday.

Southern Miss got a last second three pointer from Neil Watson to knot the game and sent it to the extra period.

The Golden Hurricane (15-11, 8-4 C-USA) used an 18-2 run over five minutes in the second half to erase a 15 point deficit and take a 55-54 lead with 4:17 remaining.

Jordan Clarkson hit a three-pointer with 15.2 seconds remaining to give TU a 64-63 lead. Eric McClellan made two free throws, and Tulsa led 66-63 with 6.1 seconds left.

Nevertheless, in overtime Golden Eagles outscored the Hurricane 11-3 in the extra period to take the win.

Scottie Haralson led Tulsa with 19 points, Clarkson netted 17 and Steven Idlet added 10 points for the Hurricane. Jonathan Mills led USM with 25 points, and Watson added 18 points.

Southern Miss scored the first six points of the second period, to take a 40-28 advantage.

Tulsa answered with five straight on a Haralson three-pointer and a jumper by Clarkson, to close the gap to 40-33. Southern Miss, however, scored five in a row to spark a 12-4 run and take a 15-point advantage at 52-37.

Haralson hit a three-pointer from the right wing to ignite a 9-0 spurt that was capped off by by a Clarkson 3-point bucket to bring TU back to within six points at 52-36 with 7:55 remaining. TU used an 18-2 run to erase the 15-point deficit and take a 55-54 lead with 4:17 remaining in regulation.

From there, the game went back and forth until the extra period.

Tulsa shot 50 percent in the first half, scoring 20-of-26 points from inside the paint. The Golden Eagles though made 14-of-15 free throws to lead 34-28 at the break.

TU opened the game with a 6-1 lead and led 10-5, before Southern Miss used to a 10-0 run to move ahead 15-10 with 10:14 left in the half. The Golden Hurricane responded with seven straight points to retake the lead at 17-15. TU led 22-18 with 5:40 remaining, but the Golden Eagles moved back in front, 25-22, and went ahead to a six-point, 34-28 advantage at the half.

The Golden Hurricane will face Rice Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.