In an utter defensive collapse rarely seen, against a Memphis team that had been gasping for air, Tulsa again found ways to lose a close game.

TU squandered a 14-point early second half lead to fall 83-81 to Memphis on Sunday afternoon in front of a bewildered announced crowd of 3,524 at the Reynolds Center.

Tulsa (6-11, 0-6 AAC) managed to fall to 1-8 in games decided by 5 points or less this season. In crunch time, the Golden Hurricane doesn't have players who are stepping up.

"It's really disappointing. This one really, really hurts," said Tulsa coach Frank Haith.

Memphis (10-8, 4-4 AAC) had lost three consecutive games, and prima donna coach Penny Hardaway had just embarrassed himself by dropping F-bombs in a press conference after another loss.

It looked like it was going to be another Memphis loss, as Tulsa played well, and especially shot well on the way to a 46-33 halftime lead. TU extended the lead to 14 points at 50-36 at the 18:33 mark of the second half.

But from there, it was a complete disaster.

Memphis made 17 of 24 shots (70.8 percent) in the second half from the field. Down the stretch, it seemed like Memphis never went a possession without a score.

At the same time, the Golden Hurricane cooled off, and was outscored 40-19 for the next 14 plus minutes after it had its 14-point lead, getting down 7 points at 76-69 with just over 4 minutes remaining.

"We had offensive and defensive breakdowns," Haith said. "They were scoring on our mistakes, getting wide open on threes. A lack of execution on defense. On offense, guys want to go one-on-one and do their own thing.

"In the second half, when they go on their run, we have guys breaking off plays and taking terrible shots. And that's how they got back into the game. And our defensive intensity was absolutely poor."

The Golden Hurricane still managed to have a shot to win the game, as Darien Jackson, with TU down 2, rebounded a Memphis miss and raced down the court to get fouled on a layup attempt with 27.8 seconds remaining.

But Jackson missed the second of two foul shots, leaving Tulsa down 82-81. After Alex Lomax made the second of two free throws to put Memphis up 83-81 with 24.9 seconds remaining, Tulsa had its shot to tie or win the game outright.

But unbelievably, TU bumbled the possession, with nobody getting a shot off and the clock running out while Tulsa was fumbling around with the ball. The design of the play was to drive and kick it out for an open three-pointer to win the game.

The game was almost a foul-shooting contest, as Tulsa, plagued by not getting to the line for most of the year, made 14 of 17 (82.4 percent) free throws in the first half, and made 25 of 31 (80.6 percent) overall. Memphis made 6 of 8 (75 percent) in the first half, and 17 of 25 (68 percent) overall.

Jeriah Horne led Tulsa with 19 points, mostly all from the free throw line. Horne was only 1 of 5 from the field, including 1 of 3 on three-pointers. He made 16 of 18 free throws (88.9 percent).

Jackson had 15 points, Sam Griffin had 13 points, and LaDavius Draine had 12 points (4 of 6 on three-pointers).

Tulsa made 10 of 20 three-pointers for the game (50 percent), and shot 48.9 percent from the field. Memphis made 50.9 percent from the field, and 10 of 23 (43.5 percent) on threes.

Anthony Pritchard was conspicuous in his absence for much of the game. Averaging 5.2 points and 27 minutes of playing time during conference play coming into the game, Pritchard played only 10 minutes, including 3 minutes in the second half. But he still managed to lead Tulsa in assists with 4.

And interestingly, after hardly playing during the second half, Pritchard was in the game on Tulsa's last possession. His plus/minus ratio for the game was zero.

Leading Memphis were two players who had uncharacteristically prolific games on offense. Meaning, they were playing much better than normal.

Senior guard Tyler Harris led all scorers with 24 points although he was averaging only 9.1 points. Freshman Josh Minott scored 18 points, going 10 of 10 from the line. Averaging 6.2 points, Minott was shooting 67.9 percent from the line.

With a road game coming up at Tulane (7-9, 4-3) on Wednesday, Tulsa may be 0-7 in conference play before playing South Florida (6-11, 1-4) at home Saturday night.

"I've never been in a situation like this in my coaching career," Haith said. "All I can do is lean on my faith and continue to coach these guys."