TU Survives Early Deficit, Beats Cincinnati In Overtime

The Tulsa football team wrapped regular season at 9-3 with a 40-37 overtime win over Cincinnati Friday night at Chapman Stadium.

After a TU fumble, the Bearcats got on the board first with a touchdown connection from Hayden Moore to Thomas Geddis.

Down 7-0 with just over seven minutes of the first quarter, Dane Evans threw a pass that was picked off by Cincinnati’s Mike Tyson. The Bearcats took advantage of the Golden Hurricane mishap and went up 14-0 with a score from Moore.

Tulsa woke up with a deep, one-handed catch by Keevan Lucas to put TU in scoring range. The play was followed up with a six-yard scoring rush by James Flanders, cutting the Golden Hurricane’s deficit 14-7.

The score helped Flanders record his 16th rushing touchdown of the season.

A field goal at the 3:06 mark, gave the Bearcats a 17-7 lead late in the first. The 17 points were the most Cincinnati scored in a quarter all season.

An 82-yard score by Cincinnati made it a 24-7 game early in the second quarter. Soon after, the Bearcats intercepted another pass from Evans.

At this point, the Bearcats were dominating on both sides of the ball and playing their best game of the year.

Just before halftime, Evans found Lucas for an end zone appearance to trim Cincinnati’s lead 24-14.

The Golden Hurricane opened the third quarter with an early score from Justin Hobbs, making it a three-point game. But Cincinnati elevated its advantage 31-21 with 4:43 before the final quarter.

With 3:12 to play, Chris Minter put Tulsa within three points with a five-yard scoring reception. TU kept rolling with a Redford Jones field goal at the end of regulation to send the game into overtime.

Entering overtime tied 34-all, it was TU who prevailed 40-37 after Flanders cut through the middle for a four-yard rushing touchdown.