Most teams don’t turn to their post players for three-pointers when things are getting testy. But it was Junior Etou and Martins Igbanu who got Tulsa going in the second half with a barrage of threes.
Etou’s treys were expected. Igbanu’s, not so much.
Igbanu’s first career home three-pointers, combined with Etou’s game-high 23 points, sparked Tulsa to a 74-66 victory over East Carolina on Sunday afternoon on Senior Day in front of 4,449 fans at the Reynolds Center.
“In the second half, when you’ve got your big guys, like Martins and Junior, stepping out and making threes, it makes your spacing and your offense better,” said TU coach Frank Haith of his two post players from Africa - Etou from the Republic of Congo, and Igbanu from Lagos, Nigeria.
“In the second half, we played as well offensively as we have all year. I thought we had good shots in the first half - we just didn’t make them."
Etou and Igbanu combined to hit all six of their second half three-pointers to help Tulsa pull away from the Pirates. TU led for the majority of the game, including a 29-27 halftime margin, but ECU had pulled ahead by a point early in the second half.
But a two-pointer from Etou, followed by two threes by Igbanu, sent the Hurricane on an 8-2 run for a 37-32 lead, and Tulsa never again trailed.
Etou scored 20 points in the second half, hitting all six of his shots from the field and all four of his free throws in the half. Igbanu scored all 10 of his points in the second half.
A shooting-challenged team during a recent six-game losing streak, Tulsa hit 7 of 10 three-pointers in the second half and shot 65.2 percent from the field in the half. Tulsa finished 12 of 22 from behind the arc and 14 of 16 from the free throw line for the game.
Tulsa (14-14, 8-8 AAC) avenged an earlier defeat at East Carolina that triggered a span of seven losses in eight games before its victory Thursday night at home against South Florida.
For Igbanu, who was averaging 6.7 points in conference play, and 5.4 for the season, hitting three-pointers is a recent phenomenon. He hit his first career three-pointers less than two weeks ago in a loss at Central Florida, going three for four in that contest. He was three of six in his career before Sunday, when he went two for three.
“It’s something I’ve been working on every day after practice,” Igbanu said. “Coach gave me some confidence. He pulled me to the side (after practice) and told me to start shooting the ball.
“There are still some times when I still won’t shoot it and he wants me to shoot it, but I feel like it is just a process where he won’t have to get on me to shoot it.”
Haith had a good natured laugh about Igbanu’s last comment.
“That’s a tough thing when you’ve got to tell a guy to shoot the ball,” Haith joked.
Etou, Tulsa’s leading scorer at 12.4 per game, and only player averaging in double figures, was a subject that had Haith beaming.
“It’s all about his confidence in being that guy. That’s different for him,” Haith said of Etou. “I think he’s growing into that role as the year has progressed. I think he’s starting to see things and the game is slowing down for him.”
East Carolina (13-16, 5-11) was led by Caleb White and Kentrell Barkley with 20 and 19 points, respectively. The pair kept the Pirates hanging around, but Tulsa was able to gradually pull away, with the final few minutes having no suspense.
Another key to the game was point guard Sterling Taplin, who had 13 points, six rebounds, and an outrageous assists-to-turnovers ratio of nine assists to just one turnover.
“When you look at Sterling’s stat line, in terms of what he did, it was impressive,” Haith said. “When he plays that well, we’re pretty doggone good.”
Corey Henderson had 14 points, including four of six three-pointers. Pat Birt, Tulsa’s only senior, had a rough game, scoring only two points.
“Really good win. I think we can build on this,” Haith said.
