If TU performs well down the stretch of games, with Sam Griffin lighting it up, Tulsa fans who saw the TU scrimmage Saturday morning of Homecoming weekend can say they saw it coming.
Sam Griffin scored 18 points to lead all scorers, picking up where he left off last year in a scrimmage that was made up of four 5-minute stretches that started with the score tied with 5 minutes left. Some players interchanged teams after each period.
Adding to the end of game theme, at the end of the scrimmage were three 4-second segments where one side had a one shot lead and was shooting two free throws with a one-point lead. So overall, it was 20:12 of action.
Newcomers Bandon Betson, Jesaiah McWright and B.B. Knight all showed why they will be part of the rotation when the season begins. All looked good, as Betson, the Chicago State transfer, scored 14, and freshmen McWright and Knight from the Houston area each scored 13.
"We were playing some unique lineups, not having A.P. and Tim out there, but I thought we handled it well," said first-year coach Eric Konkol of not having point guard Anthony Pritchard and forward Tim Dalger available for the scrimmage.
Pritchard was in a walking boot on his left foot. Both Dalger and Pritchard are expected to be back in the lineup by the season opener at Oregon State on Nov. 7.
"We're trying to find out what our best lineups are," Konkol said. "We've had two scrimmages, and we are analyzing all aspects."
TU connected on 17 three-pointers, with Griffin's 4 treys leading the way. McWright and Knight had 3 apiece, while Betson, Peyton Urbancic, and Ari Seals each had 2 threes, and Sterling Gaston-Chapman made one.
Griffin's highlight of the scrimmage was when he hit a three with 6.7 seconds remaining to give his Gold squad a 73-71 lead (it started that segment at 62-62). The Blue couldn't get a shot off on that final possession.
Tulsa's new upbeat style was showcased. In just over a half, the two squads combined for 96 points, which broken in half to account for TU playing TU, makes 48 points apiece on average.
Fans also witnessed a new style of defense, with a man-to-man, no-switching defense replacing Tulsa's mostly matchup zone style of the past 8 seasons.
McWright (6-4) and Knight (6-6) showed reason to be excited about the pair of freshmen guard/wings.
"I'm a big believer in those guys," Konkol said of the pair. "They are high energy guys, they're athletic, they've got length, they've gotten a lot stronger. We're going to be needing both of them."
Betson, who averaged 14 points for Chicago State last season before entering the transfer portal, looks the part of an impressive combo guard. Both Betson and Griffin were two guys that handled point guard duties with Pritchard out.
Overall, Tulsa had 11 men available - 10 on scholarship, plus TU great Shea Seals's son Ari Seals, who in his second year at TU scored 8 points in the scrimmage.
