TU Men's Basketball Team Falls To 3-3 After Loss To Wichita State

TU men's basketball team took on Wichita State in Kansas Saturday. The game tipped off at 2:00 p.m. Tulsa was beaten 75-55 by the Shockers, and fell to 3-3 on the season.

Both teams got off to a fast pace start, running the floor and knocking down shots. TU's D'Andre Wright opened the game with a three-pointer, setting the tone. Wichita State's Ron Baker answered that with a three for the Shocker. There were 39 points between the two teams in the first seven minutes of the game. Of those 39 points, 18 belonged to Tulsa, while 21 belonged to Wichita State.

At the 12:19 mark, the Golden Hurricane was playing good defense, already adding two blocked shots to the stat list. There was plenty of offense between the two teams as well. TU was sinking baskets, while the Shocker was raining threes.

With 8:38 to go in the half, TU trailed 18-26. TU controlled the paint defensively, forcing the Shockers to shoot from outside. TU hit a dry streak right under eight minutes, missing eight shots in a row. They now hadn't scored since the 14:28 mark.

Approaching the five minute mark Wright hit a floater for TU, making it a 22-29 game. Baker contested that with his fourth three of the game, advancing Wichita State's lead to 32-22. TU had cooled off from their fast start, trailing by more than they had all game.

By the end of the first, TU trailed 22-40. Golden Hurricane leading scorer James Woodard only had three points at the finish of the half.

Going into halftime TU was 27 percent from the field, 4-8 from the three-point line, and 4-5 from the free throw line. They had 15 rebounds, six assists, zero steals, two points in the paint, and two blocks. Wichita State was 48 percent from the field, 8-16 from the three-point line, and 4-7 from the free throw line. They had 22 rebounds, 12 assists, three steals, ten points in the paint, and zero blocks.

Wichita State led the opening of the second half, increasing their lead to 45-27. With 11:31 to play, Woodard put the Golden Hurricane on his back, hitting back-to-back buckets, cutting the Shockers' lead to ten. Baker came back a minute later with another three for Wichita State. Baker now had 18 points that all resulted from threes, and the Shocker now led 50-37.

TU continued their fight to catch up. With just under eight minutes, Woodard hit his next three shots, (the first two being threes), to help his team stay in the game. TU's effort wasn't good enough, losing 75-55 at the buzzer.

The Golden Hurricane will take on Creighton December 3, at 7:00 p.m. in the Reynolds Center.