Tulsa Drops Overtime Heartbreaker To Charlotte

Shaquille Harrison and Rashad Ray scored career highs with 26 and 19 points, respectively, but the Tulsa basketball team fell 90-86 in overtime at Conference USA foe Charlotte Thursday evening at Halton Arena.

Harrison made 10-of-15 field goals, and added four assists and seven rebounds, while Ray went 7-of-9 from the field for the Golden Hurricane (7-10, 2-1 C-USA). James Woodard scored 13 points, and Lew Evans led TU with 11 rebounds. Pierria Henry and Denzel Ingram scored 18 and 17 points, respectively, to lead six players in double figures for the 49ers (11-5, 2-1 C-USA).

Tulsa led 71-63 with 1:16 left in regulation after a D'Andre Wright layup. After a 3-pointer, Terrence Williams and Henry combined for five layups and TU made 5-of-8 free throws down the stretch. Henry made a layup with 0:09 left and Pat Swilling's 3-point attempt at the buzzer was off the mark, sending the game into overtime.

Charlotte scored the first five points of the extra period, and led by as much as 84-78 with 3:07 remaining. Tulsa cut the deficit to 84-82 after layups by Woodard and Ray with 1:59 left. TU trailed 88-86 with 0:02 left after a Harrison dunk, but the 49ers made two free throws to close the game.

Charlotte extended its halftime lead to 39-31 at the 18:05 mark. Tulsa closed the gap to 41-40 on a Swilling 3-pointer with 14:42 remaining. The 49ers led 53-46 after a three by Denzel Ingram with 9:46 remaining, but the Hurricane went on a 17-7 run over the next 5:20 to take a 63-60 lead on a Tim Peete 3-pointer.

While the Hurricane was building its eight-point lead, the TU defense held Charlotte without a field goal for 7:32, including just seven free throws, before Ben Cherry made a three with 1:02 remaining to make the score 71-66.

Harrison scored the first six points of the game for Tulsa, driving the Golden Hurricane to an early 6-5 lead. Brandon Swannegan got a layup and Swilling and Tim Peete each hit a 3-pointer to give TU a 14-11 lead at the 12:12 mark.

Charlotte led 21-18 after a three by Pierria Henry, but a Woodard layup sparked a 6-0 spurt that put the Hurricane back in the lead, 24-21. The pair of three-point leads would be the largest of the half for TU. The 49ers scored seven straight points and 11 of the next 16 to take a 32-29 lead at the half.

Tulsa shot 45 percent from the field (29-of-64), and made five 3-pointers and 72 percent of its free throws (23-of-32). Charlotte shot 47 percent (30-of-64) from the field, made eight 3-pointers, and 22-of-42 free throws (52 percent). Charlotte held a 47-37 advantage on the boards.

The Golden Hurricane play at Marshall at 11 a.m. CT Saturday. The game will be televised by CBS Sports Network.