Golden Hurricane Needs Overtime to Win Third Straight

Tulsa made it close yet again with 76-71 OT win against Houston.

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 12:11 pm

By: News On 6

Golden Hurricane Needs Overtime to Win Third Straight

Originally Published: Feb 5, 2011 7:3 PM CDT

Oklahoma Sports Staff

TULSA, Okla. – Tulsa has certainly been making its games exciting, but it has worked out for them.

The Golden Hurricane pulled off a dramatic 76-71 overtime victory against Houston on Saturday afternoon, marking the sixth-straight game for Tulsa that has come down to the wire.

Senior guard Justin Hurtt drained a 3-pointer with 8.6 seconds left in regulation to knot the score at 66 and force overtime. An offensive foul from UH’s Zamal Nixon prevented the Cougars from pulling off the win in regulation.

Tulsa hit a rhythm offensively in overtime, going on a 9-3 run to open up a six-point lead with 25 seconds to play and finish off the game.

The three-game winning streak is the longest of the season for the Golden Hurricane (13-10, 6-3) and the longest since January of 2010.

The Golden Hurricane put on an impressive first half, with Scottie Haralson draining all five of his attempted 3s and Tulsa matching its season high for 3-pointers in a half with eight.

Meanwhile, Tulsa held Houston to 0-of-7 shooting from downtown in the first half and outrebounded them 24-14.

Tulsa led by eight at the half, but Houston (11-11, 3-6) gained its first lead of the game with eight minutes remaining in the game. The Golden Hurricane trailed by as many as four with two minutes two play before Hurtt played the hero at the end of regulation.

Hurtt and Haralson led all scorers with 22 points each. Forward Steven Idlet had a double-double with 16 points and 10 boards.

Tulsa struggled from the free-throw line (hitting just one more in a 15-of-29 performance in regulation could have prevented the overtime) but it also outrebounded Houston by a margin of 53-32.

Tulsa returns to action at 6 p.m. on February 12 on the road against UCF.