Tulsa Notches Sixth Consecutive With Win Over SMU

The Tulsa Golden Hurricane won its sixth consecutive conference game Saturday with a 66-60 win over the SMU Mustangs on the road.

Tulsa was all over the Mustangs right out of the gate, stringing together an 11-2 run, including three consecutive three-pointers, to put SMU in a big hole just five minutes into the game. However, Southern Methodist immediately answered with a 10-3 run, including three three-pointers of their own, to cut the deficit to just two points four minutes later.

Both squads went quiet for nearly four minutes, and TU enjoyed a five-point lead at the 7:47 mark. Robert Nyakundi made an effort to close the gap for SMU, scoring five consecutive to tie the game 21-21 with 6:44 left in the first half.

Holding a one-point led just two minutes later, Tulsa strung together a 9-3 run to take a 33-26 lead with 90 seconds left to play in the first half and would head into the locker room ahead 35-30.

SMU opened the second half outscoring the Golden Hurricane 10-2 to take a 40-37 lead, but Tulsa responded with a 12-4 run to retake the lead 49-44 just four minutes later. A three-point play from Jalen Jones cut the lead back to a single possession, but Tulsa pushed the lead back to eight points thanks to a 7-2 run and cruised to a win.

Jordan Clarkson set the pace for Tulsa, scoring a game-high 22 points, grabbing six rebounds and six assists, while Scottie Haralson notched 17 points and three boards.

Nyakundi led the Mustangs with 18 points, four rebounds and two assists, with Leslee Smith contributing 10 points, hitting all four of his shots in his 15 minutes off of the bench.