For a long while, it looked like it would be another ‘Oh No!’ game for Tulsa against ORU. Having lost three consecutive games to the Golden Eagles, the Golden Hurricane appeared snake-bitten in the series.

But Tulsa guards Jaleel Wheeler and Corey Henderson dominated down the stretch, scoring 15 and 14 points, respectively, as Tulsa went on a 16-0 run and pulled away for a 79-65 victory to recapture the Mayor’s Cup in front of a crowd of 4,230 on Monday night at ORU’s Mabee Center.

“We took a huge step tonight,” said TU coach Frank Haith. “We’re so young and so new. We’re learning on the fly. I’m proud of how tough we were down the stretch and how we made plays to finish the game.”

Tulsa (3-2) got down 14-6 early as ORU (1-5) looked like it couldn’t miss. With a history of rising to the occasion against Tulsa, ORU was able to hit open threes and was playing inspired basketball.

But the Golden Hurricane hung in there and tied the score at 28-28 on a three-pointer by Pat Birt with just over six minutes left in the first half. A terrific, well-guarded three-pointer by Henderson gave Tulsa its first lead at 31-28, and TU was able to take a 39-36 lead at halftime.

ORU took the lead twice more in the second half, the last time at 53-50 after a three-pointer by Jalen Bradley.

But Tulsa responded with a dunk by Will Magnay which led to a 16-0 run that would put ORU away. TU took the lead for good at 55-53 with 10:02 remaining on three-pointer by Junior Etou, and led 66-53 before ORU responded.

In all, Tulsa went on a 21-2 run and led 71-55 with six minutes remaining, and led by as many as 17 points.

“It was big when we were hitting shots, but I think it started on the defensive end,” Wheeler said.

ORU couldn’t buy a bucket down the stretch, with previously hot shooting from Emmanuel Nzekwesi, Kris Marti and Aaron Young going cold when ORU needed them the most. The trio had nine points apiece in the first half, but finished with 15, 14, and 12 points, respectively. Post player Albert Owens had nine points in each half to lead all scorers with 18 points.

“I thought it was our defense,” Haith said of the difference in the two halves. “They got loose and got some open looks in the first half. We were unable to get momentum because we couldn’t get consecutive stops.

“I thought Will Magnay gave us a great defensive effort on Owens, who is a tough matchup. I thought his defense was very critical in a stretch there. We were able to get consecutive stops.”

TU had to overcome playing without point guard Sterling Taplin for almost the entire game due to foul trouble. Taplin couldn’t catch a break, picking up two quick fouls to start each half on questionable calls, and went out of the game for good with 4:47 remaining when he got popped in the head.

Without Taplin, who had played so well down the stretch in Tulsa’s last two victories over Oregon State and New Orleans, it was Henderson and Wheeler who had to guide the team. They both were terrific in driving to the basket down the stretch, making some spectacular plays.

“With Sterling saddled with foul trouble, it was good to see Corey Henderson have a good night like he had,” Haith said. “I though Jaleel stepped in and also played well.”

Junior Etou came through with a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds despite playing only 21 minutes because of a tight back. Pat Birt added 12 points.

But it was the TU bench performance that was a death knoll for the Golden Eagles. Besides Henderson, freshman guard Travis Atson had his best game with 10 points, while Lawson Korita had five points. Magnay had four points and eight rebounds in 21 minutes.

“We had 35 points off the bench,” Haith said. “I think this team is capable of having a number of guys play well.”

A telling statistic was that TU crushed ORU on the boards with a 50-29 rebounding edge.

“Another key was our ability to rebound the basketball,” Haith said. “We were able to limit them to just one shot, and that was the difference in the game.”

ORU coach Scott Sutton was impressed with TU but understandably disappointed in his team.

“(Tulsa has) come a long ways in a couple of weeks,” Sutton said. “Wheeler helps. It hurt them not having him the first couple of games. They’re a much better basketball team than they showed opening night against Jacksonville State.”

“They made shots and we didn’t during that stretch. That was the biggest key. We just go ice cold, and they hit some tough shots, got the lead, and I didn’t think our guys handled adversity very well.”

Haith is clearly excited about his team that only has two players in the rotation that played last season for TU.

“I think we’re just scratching the surface,” Haith said. “I think we took a huge step tonight with our first win on the road.”