TU Falls 69-66 To Southeastern Oklahoma State

The Golden Hurricane men's basketball team took on Southeastern Oklahoma State Wednesday night in the Reynolds Center. TU fell 69-66, slipping to 5-4 on the season.

The first half got underway fast, with a 12-12 ball game at the 10:15 mark. TU then took the lead with a layup from Shaquille Harrison. A minute later, Rashad Ray sank a jumper, to increase the Golden Hurricane lead by a bucket. Southeastern Oklahoma State tied up the game again in the final minutes, making it 22-all. Ray then knocked down a three from deep, giving TU a little cushion. It wasn't long before the Savage Storm caught up and regained the lead, causing Tulsa to trail 25-28 going into halftime.

Ray and D'Andre Wright led TU at the half with eight points apiece.

Tulsa's Marquel Curtis knocked down a three-pointer off an assist from Harrison, to kick off the second half. The Golden Hurricane now only trailed 28-30. Southeastern Oklahoma State's Sami Bzai answered that with a three of his own, to advance the Savage Storm lead 33-28. By the 15:59 mark Southeastern Oklahoma State led by nine, as TU struggled to close the gap. As the final half progressed TU fell further behind, trailing by 19 in the last seven minutes.

With 6:43 left to play, Harrison hit a jumper to cut the Savage Storm lead by two. TU fought offensively to come back in the final two minutes of the game. Harrison sank two free throws, followed by another three from Curtis, closing the scoring gap between Tulsa and Southeastern Oklahoma State by five. 

At this point, Tulsa was losing 62-55. Curtis came back and hit another critical three in the final minute of the game, making it 63-68. Harrison hit a layup in the last nine seconds, followed by a three-point play from James Woodard. With TU only down by three (with four seconds on the clock), Harrison launched it from behind the arc for the buzzer beater, but it didn't fall. Tulsa battled back to make it a three-point game, but its efforts weren't enough to for the win. This was the first time since 1977 that Tulsa was defeated by a team that was not Division I. 

Harrison led TU with a season-high 24 points.

TU will hit the floor again Saturday, December 13, to take on the University of Oklahoma. The game tips off at 1:30 p.m. in the Reynolds Center.