Tulsa Drops First Game of Semifinal Series

Originally Published: Apr 16, 2010 10:51 PM CDT

Gerald Goodridge
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

TULSA, Oklahoma -- The Tulsa 66ers dropped the first game of a best-of-three playoff series to the Iowa Energy 107-102 Friday.

Tulsa took an early lead by scoring four straight to start the game, but Iowa immediately responded with six unanswered to take a 6-4 lead.

Byron Mullens, who was assigned to the 66ers earlier in the day, scored three straight to retake the lead, but a Curtis Stinson jumper ended the run and retook the lead for Iowa. That would be the last lead change of the game.

Mullens continued to play a big part for the 66ers, scoring 11 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in his first game back in Tulsa. Kyle Weaver scored 19 and dished out 10 assists while Larry Owens led the 66ers with 20 points and four rebounds.

Iowa expanded its lead in the opening minutes of the second quarter with a 9-4 run, giving them a 30-23 lead. Another run late in the quarter would push its lead to 10 points, and the Energy came out of the locker room with four unanswered points to take a 58-44 lead to open the half. An 8-2 run late in the quarter extended the lead to 16 and seemingly put the game out of reach.

The 66ers started the fourth quarter down 12 points, but went on a 12-4 run – including three 3-pointers- to draw within four points of Iowa. The Energy responded with eight straight to push the lead back to 12, but Tulsa wouldn’t stay quiet, scoring nine in a row to pull within three.

The end of the game turned into a free throw contest, and Iowa clinched the game one win by hitting five of their last six free throws.

Denham Brown led all scorers with 28 points – he was a perfect 3-of-3 from behind the arc – while adding 12 rebounds, three assists and two steals. Curtis Stinson and Darian Townes both scored 20, while Stinson grabbed 17 boards and dished out eight assists.

The three-game series continues at 4 p.m. Sunday in Iowa.