Tulsa suffers another close loss, falling 73-71 to ECU
In a familiar nightmare ending in a nightmare season for TU, this one may top them all.
Playing against an East Carolina team that most previous Tulsa teams would carve up and spit out, this TU team again lost another close game.
Tulsa overcame a 7-point deficit with under 4 minutes left, and then led by 3 points with under 40 seconds remaining.
But two great shots by ECU, combined with a controversial charging call on Jeriah Horne, delivered the game to East Carolina 73-71 Tuesday night in front of the bewildered Golden Hurricane faithful, an announced crowd of 2,809.
"Those bang-bang plays - none of them went our way," said TU coach Frank Haith.
When in the midst of an awful season, it seems like every break goes against you. Such is the case of the Golden Hurricane, a snake bitten team that has major trouble winning close games.
Tulsa (7-15, 1-10 AAC) fell to 1-9 in games decided by 5 points or less.
Horne led the way with team highs of 18 points and 6 rebounds, and made clutch plays down the stretch. A great spin move by Horne that produced a layup off of a steal and assist by Curtis Haywood with 1:38 left broke a tie and put TU up 70-68.
Rey Idowu, who scored 16 points, hit 1 of 2 free throws with 1:07 remaining to finish a 10-0 Tulsa run which had the Hurricane leading 71-68.
But Tristen Newton's step-back 10-footer with 37.6 seconds left narrowed the TU margin to 71-70. Then, after a jump ball called off an inbounds pass with the possession arrow going to Tulsa, a brilliant in-bounds play was executed off the Pirates' press.
Horne broke to the basket and made the layup with the ECU defender Brandon Suggs not being completely set. It looked like it could be a three-point play, and a likely 74-70 Tulsa lead with Horne, a terrific foul shooter, going to the line.
But with TU not being able to catch a break on what was a 50-50 call, Horne was called for charging. The refs conferenced, trying to see if video proved that Suggs' foot was on or inside the circle, which would've meant an automatic blocking call. Although inconclusive, it looked like Suggs' foot may have been on the line.
One official even went over to television analyst Alvin "Pooh" Williamson to see his monitor. He was even talking with Pooh about the play. Yes, it is THAT Pooh Williamson, the former TU Sweet 16 hero point guard and one-time interim head coach in a year very similar to this season.
But to no avail. ECU then went down, and, of course, hit a contested 3-pointer from the right corner with 10.2 seconds remaining. Arkansas transfer Vance Johnson's double clutch three-pointer over Haywood gave him a game-high 22 points for the night.
After a timeout with 7.2 seconds left in the front court, Darien Jackson broke through the ECU defense on a pass from Haywood for a contested layup, which didn't fall. Jackson thought he had been fouled on the play, holding up his hands for the officials, although it looked like wishful thinking on Jackson's part.
In a season like this, the breaks almost never go your way. That's what happens when you are on a 3-13 streak that TU is suffering through.
"Obviously, a very difficult game. A lot of breaks went against us," Haith said. "I give our guys credit for how hard they fought."
East Carolina (12-11, 3-8) is having a rough conference season after a fairly easy non-conference schedule gave it an inflated overall record. The Pirates were down 32-27 at halftime, but benefitted by some poor TU defense for much of the second half until Tulsa toughened up down the stretch.
The Pirates led by as many as 8 points at 61-53 with less than 7 minutes remaining.
East Carolina shot 50.9 percent from the field, including an incredible 9 of 14 (64.3 percent) on three's in the 2nd half, and 63 percent (17 of 27) from the field in the 2nd half. Tulsa shot 50 percent from the field in the game, 61.7 percent in the 2nd half, and 4 of 7 (57.1 percent) on three's in the final half.
Tulsa's next game is against Cincinnati (15-7, 5-4) at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Reynolds Center.