Tulsa 66ers Advance to Finals

Originally Published: Apr 20, 2010 11:10 PM CDT

Gerald Goodridge
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Tulsa held off a late push Iowa Energy to earn a 127-122 win and advance to the NBA D-League Finals.

Larry Owens led the 66ers in scoring with 20 points and 14 rebounds, while Latavious Williams added 19 points and nine rebounds in just 22 minutes. Iowa’s Curtis Stinson led all scorers with 32 points and added 11 assists and seven rebounds, while Denham Brown scored 15 and grabbed 12 boards.

Iowa stated the game on a 13-7 run, but the 66ers responded with a nine points to take a 16-15 lead. The Energy retook the lead, but Tulsa scored eight – including two 3-pointers – to take a 27-23 lead at the end of the first.

To start the second quarter, Iowa strung together a 7-4 run to close their deficit to one point. The 66ers responded with a 9-4 run halfway through the quarter to push the lead to 44-36 and finished the half with 10 straight to take a 61-45 lead at halftime.

An 8-0 run in the middle of the third quarter would pull the Energy back within single digits halfway through the third. Tulsa matched its pace and converted on six-straight free throws in the closing minutes of the period to extend the lead back to 10 points to close the quarter.

The Energy could not be held in check for the rest of the game and strung together a 10-2 run with less than five minutes left to close the gap to 102-99.

However, Tulsa was able to convert on 10 of its last 12 free throws to maintain its lead and secure a finals appearance.

The 66ers will take on the winner of Austin-Rio Grande Valley in the finals.