Defense and rebounding help Tulsa get past UCA, 70-53

With freshmen guards P.J. Haggerty and Tyshawn Archie, along with senior guard Cobe Williams leading the way for Tulsa, while sharing point guard duties, the season opener was a success.

The guard trio, along with sophomore wing Isaiah Barnes, combined for 47 points while all scoring in double figures to lead TU to a 70-53 victory over Central Arkansas Monday night in front of 2,770 fans at the Reynolds Center.

On a night where Tulsa (1-0) wasn't clicking on all cylinders on offense, the Golden Hurricane did enough other things, including rebounding and defense, as well as finally getting enough offense, to finish off the Bears.

"To outrebound them by 20, to get 20 offensive rebounds, I just thought overall, we had a grittiness about us," said second-year TU coach Eric Konkol. "Offensively, we're very much a work in progress. We're turning it over way too much. But we've spent a lot more time on our defense. What we need is to stop people. And we were able to get enough stops."

With Tulsa turning the ball over 18 times, including 12 in the first half, Central Arkansas (0-1) stayed in the game, although Tulsa led the rest of the game after Barnes' hit the season-opening shot on a drive just 18 seconds into the game.

TU never let the Bears get too close. A 33-27 halftime lead was upped to a double-digit lead throughout most of the second half. The Bears never really threatened, although they did cut the lead to 9 briefly a couple of times, the last coming with under 4 minutes remaining.

But a 3-pointer by Haggerty with 3:40 left upped the score to 65-53. And from that point on, it was over. Tulsa's defense caused Central Arkansas to miss its last 11 shots.

"Big moments to be able to close a game out," Konkol said. "This is so important for us."

After last season's nightmarish 5-25 season, it was refreshing for Tulsa to get a win. And with no returning scholarship players on the court for TU, it truly was a new look.

The surprise of the night came from Archie, a 6-foot true freshman point guard from Houston.

With turnovers being an issue for the team, it wasn't for Archie. The left-hander had zero turnovers and three assists and a steal while scoring 11 points. He was 4 of 8 from the floor, including 2 of 4 on 3-pointers in over 15 minutes of play.

"Tyshawn Archie coming in, just turned 18 in the summer, had some really nice moments," Konkol said. "Ty's got a lot of wiggle in his game. He can get downhill. He's so shifty."

Haggerty and Williams each played well overall while switching off playing the point while Archie wasn't in the game, but neither had great shooting games.

Williams led Tulsa with 13 points, but was 5 of 13 from the field. He had 4 assists and 4 turnovers, along with 3 rebounds and 2 steals. The heralded 6-0 transfer from Louisiana Tech had some spectacular moments, including an off-balance shot clock buzzer beater, and a breakaway slam dunk.

Haggerty had 12 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals while leading the team in minutes played at 31. He was only 3 of 13 from the field, and 1 of 6 on three-pointers.

Overall, Tulsa shot 40 percent (24 of 60) from the field and only 27.6 percent (8 of 29) from beyond the arc, while making 14 of 20 (70 percent) on free throws.

Tulsa's defense stepped up, holding the Bears to 33 percent (20 of 60) from the field, and 30 percent (6 of 20) on three-pointers, as well as outrebounding Central Arkansas 51-31.

"The best thing of the night is, as much as we were struggling offensively, it didn't impact the effort on the defensive end," Konkol said.

"We're trying to develop a free-flowing style, with some reading and reacting. And some players were aggressive, some were a little bit cautious, we were on our heels. We just got to keep working on it. And I'm confident we're going to get better.

Tulsa's starting lineup was Williams, Haggerty, Barnes, Jared Garcia and Matt Reed. None of them had staggeringly great games, but they all did their jobs, with room for improvement.

The 6-7 Barnes had 11 points (4 of 8 from the field), 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and a turnover in 25 minutes. Garcia, a 6-9 juco transfer, had 7 points (2 of 6, 1 of 2 on three's) and a team-high 10 rebounds, with 4 turnovers in almost 23 minutes.

Reed, a 6-10 true freshman from Carrolton, Tx., had 8 points, 6 rebounds and 2 turnovers in almost 22 minutes. He was perfect from the floor, going 3 of 3, which included draining a three-pointer.

Coming off the bench were 6-9 freshman Jarred Hall, 7-foot sophomore and St. John's transfer Mo Keita, 6-6 juco transfer Carlous Williams, Archie, and 6-3 senior walk-on Ari Seals. Not suited was 6-4 sophomore Jesaiah McWright (concussion protocol) and 6-3 senior Keaston Willis (foot).

All 10 available players got playing time.

Hall had 3 points and 7 rebounds in 17 minutes. Keita added 2 points and 3 rebounds in 18 minutes. Williams had 3 points and 3 rebounds, going 1 for 3 on three-pointers in 14 minutes. Seals played three minutes.

"Just proud of our guys, from Matt Reed, Jarred Hall, Mo Keita," Konkol said. "All these guys, young, young players, got some big minutes tonight, and helped us win. That's how we're going to grow."

Tulsa's next game is Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. at the Reynolds Center against Incarnate Word.