Tulsa Unable To Overcome Memphis on Senior Day

Tulsa was within striking distance at halftime, but the Memphis Tigers opened the second half strong and knocked off the Golden Hurricane 78-66 on Tulsa's senior night.

Tulsa trailed by just three points to open the second half, but the Tigers' offense was firing on all cylinders, outscoring Tulsa 24-5 over the first seven minutes – including 10 from Wesley Withsherspoon – to take a 61-39 advantage.

That lead would hold for the majority of the second half, and the Tigers would hold a 75-52 advantage with 6:20 left to play, and the Golden Hurricane would try to battle back. Tulsa would outscore the Tigers 14-3 over the closing six minutes of the game, but were unable to cut the lead to single-digits to close out the regular season.

Memphis sophomore Will Barton was on fire all night, finishing with a game-high 30 points, grabbing nine rebounds, dishing out four assists and three steals. Witherspoon was a big contributor as well, scoring 13 points – including nine from behind the arc – and grabbing nine rebounds, while Joe Jackson added 16 points and five assists.

Jordan Clarkson set the pace for the Golden Hurricane, scoring 18 points and dishing out three assists, while Steven Idlet scored 13 and grabbed six rebounds in his final game at the Reynolds Center.

Tulsa will now wait four days before heading to Memphis, Tenn. for the Conference USA tournament, but will have to wait to find out their first matchup.