TU Drops To UCF In Orlando

Tulsa freshman Martins Igbanu scored a career-high 15 points, but it was poor shooting overall that doomed the Golden Hurricane in a 71-53 loss at UCF Tuesday night in front of 3,528 fans at CFE Arena.
 
Tulsa (12-13, 6-7 AAC) shot only 29-percent from the field, while UCF knocked down 52-percent of its field goals and 58-percent of its three-pointers, as the Knights avenged an 11-point Tulsa win earlier this season.
 
Igbanu, who attempted just one three-pointer before tonight, connected on 3-of-4 from behind the arc and was 4-of-10 overall and 4-of-5 from the free throw line, while adding six rebounds and two blocks. Nick Banyard led four UCF players in double-figures with 18 points.
 
Trailing by four at halftime, the Hurricane tied the score at 33 on six points by Igbanu in the first 1:32 of the second half. The Knights moved the lead up to six points before Tulsa knocked it down to one point, 39-38, on two Igbanu free throws sat the 13:57 mark. Tulsa put the Knights in the double bonus with its 10th team foul with 12:23 remaining.
 
Tulsa kept it to a three-point margin, 43-40, when Jaleel Wheeler scored on a layup at the 11:36 mark, before UCF sored the next seven points for a 50-40 lead. From that point, UCF out-scored the Hurricane in the final 8:51 by a count of 21 to 13 for the victory.
 
After scoring the opening two points of the game, Tulsa tied the score 5-5 at the 17:16 mark, before the Knights scored the seven straight points over the next two minutes for a 12-5 lead. Tulsa cut the deficit to two points, 12-10, but the Knights sprinted to a double-digit lead at 20-10, as the Hurricane went scoreless for four minutes.
 
UCF had its largest lead of 12 points at 26-14 with 5:06 remaining in the first half. The Hurricane scored the next seven points to make the score 26-21 at the 4:06 mark on a Wheeler layup.
 
The Knights went ahead 29-21 before Tulsa cut it to two points, 29-27, at the 2:02 mark on an Junior Etou three-point basket.
 
The half ended with the score 31-27. Etou had eight points and Wheeler six points to lead the Hurricane through the first 20 minutes, while UCF's Matt Williams had 10 points.
 
Tulsa continues on the road this Saturday against American Athletic Conference co-leader Cincinnati for an 11:00 a.m. (CT) tipoff.