Tulsa Upset by SMU Buzzer Beater

The Golden Hurricane fell to the Mustangs after Robert Nyakundi hit a 3-pointer with just 1.1 seconds left in the game.

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 12:10 pm

By: News On 6

Originally Published: Jan 26, 2011 10:53 PM CDT

Oklahoma Sports Staff and Wire Reports

TULSA, Oklahoma -- The Tulsa Golden Hurricane watched as Southern Methodist’s Robert Nyakundi’s three-point shot from the left corner fell into the basket, notching a 59-58 loss to the Mustangs Wednesday night.

Tulsa pulled gained the momentary two-point lead when Justin Hurtt made a three-point play, but seven missed shots from the charity line in the final eight minutes of the matchup could have been a game-changer.

Papa Dia scored 19 points and pulled down eight rebounds to lead SMU while Jeremiah Samarrippas scored 13 points and Nyakundi finished with 10.

The win snapped a 10-game winning streak for Tulsa against the Mustangs and was the first victory for SMU coach Matt Doherty in 11tries against his former assistant Doug Wojcik, who coached for Doherty at Notre Dame and North Carolina.

Hurtt scored 27 points, Bryson Pope 12 and Scottie Haralson 11 for Tulsa.

Tulsa made eight of 15 first-half 3-point tries -- including four by Hurtt and three by Haralson -- in taking a 36-27 lead at the break.

Southern Methodist used a 19-4 run to wipe out a 41-31 deficit. The Mustangs screened effectively to create open 3-pointers or slam dunks for Dia and generated layups off backdoor cuts.

Tulsa's offense went stale as Steven Idlet, who averages 13.6 points per game, was unable to establish a post presence against Dia, scoring just two points.

Samarrippas took an inbounds pass with six seconds left and dribbled into the lane before finding a wide-open Nyakundi on the wing.

Tulsa had 18 turnovers and made just six of 14 free throws.