Brandon Rachal and Darien Jackson not only had career scoring nights, but they were high energy on both ends of the court.
And Tulsa needed every bit of it Saturday afternoon against a talented Austin Peay team.
Rachal scored 30 points and Jackson added 16 points to lead Tulsa to a 72-65 victory over Austin Peay in front of a crowd of 3,105 at the Reynolds Center.
“I don’t think Brandon or Darien are really leading scorer type of guys,” said TU coach Frank Haith of the defense-first players. “But they led us in scoring because they just play hard and find ways to scrap baskets. They both are aggressive in attacking the basket."
On fire is the only way one can describe Rachal’s start, as he scored all of Tulsa’s points on the way to an early 14-4 lead just over four minutes into the game before he took a two-minute breather on the bench.
After that start, Tulsa struggled, and got down 36-27 before closing the gap to 36-34 at halftime. TU seemed to take control midway through the second half, leading 53-45, but the Governors got hot and took back the lead, with the two teams being tied at 61-61 with just over three minutes remaining.
A bucket by Martins Igbanu gave Tulsa the lead for good at 63-61 with 3:01 left. And then Jackson made perhaps the play of the game with a steal around midcourt and a following two-handed slam dunk where it appeared he was fouled with 2:47 left, putting Tulsa up 65-61.
“We got a little separation there because that made it a two-possession game,” Haith said of Jackson‘s play. “Terrific anticipation. We had changed defenses there from zone to man. He got in the passing lane and had a great finish.”
Then Lawson Korita made a gutsy play to help put the game away. Korita, who had not scored up to that point, drove to the basket with a three-point lead for a a tough reverse left-handed layup to extend the lead to 68-63 with 57 seconds remaining. The Governors would get no closer.
Rachal was a man among boys the entire game. Averaging 12.7 points coming into the game, he was nine-of-12 from the field, 10-of-11 from the free throw line, and also led TU with five steals and seven rebounds.
Jackson’s presence on the floor was just as important as Rachal’s. The Golden Hurricane sagged when he had to sit out most of the first half with two fouls. But in the second half, Jackson returned with a vengeance.
All 16 of Jackson’s points came in the second half, as did all three of his steals, and three of his four assists. He was also six-of-six from the field, and four-of-five from the line. His teammates did a terrific job getting him the ball for close-in buckets.
“He makes plays. I think his focus is defense,” Haith said of Jackson. “Obviously, we have to have other guys bring that type of energy to be successful at the level we want to be successful at."
Jeriah Horne and Igbanu, both tied for second in scoring for TU coming into the game at 11 points per game, each had five points. Haith said that for TU to reach the next level, those two have to have better games.
But he knows that when Jackson is off the court, TU isn’t the same team.
“I thought we were missing something today when he went off the court from an energy standpoint,” Haith said of Jackson sitting due to foul trouble.
Together, Rachal and Jackson combined for 46 points, eight steals, nine rebounds, six assists, and perhaps more incredibly, zero turnovers.
“There was a lot of key plays both of those guys made down the stretch,” Haith said of the duo.
Austin Peay (1-2) looked strong for much of the game. Terry Taylor, the Ohio Valley Conference preseason pick for Player of the Year, had 22 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Governors. Austin Peay is coming off a 22-10 season.
Tulsa (3-1) did well to put away the scrappy Governors and will move on to face Southeastern Louisiana at home on Wednesday, Nov. 20.
