Sports editor Jaralynn Tammi Morellano says the Golden Hurricane flip-flopped the entire game.
The University of Tulsa’s men’s basketball skidded by with a win against the Temple Owls on Wednesday, Feb. 12 after a second half full of hot shots. This loss served as the Owls first ever home game loss of the season, and its fans exited the Liacouras Center in despair after watching victory slip out of the team’s talons. This expenditure was headed by an impressive shooting rate of 72 percent from the floor in the second half.
The game was close for its entirety, but the Golden Hurricane was foreshadowing victory from the start. Isaiah Barnes would commit back-to-back three-pointers. These impressive plays would be followed by a floater from Keaston Willis. This combined effort would start the Golden Hurricane at a strong 8-4 lead.
The Owls would prove these high speed winds were not enough to ruffle its feathers. Temple would answer back with an 8-0 scoring run, an impressive streak that would maintain its flame even after a media timeout. Unfortunately, the Golden Hurricane’s power would dwindle after this brash display of power, and it would not gain the lead for the rest of the half. Hopes were still high because the team would fight tooth and nail to stay in the Owls’ tailwind.
Tulsa was trailing 18-11 when it connected once more on another pair of three-pointers to put it just a point behind the Owls. Temple would continue to push on ahead, however, a layup from Tyshawn Archie would keep the trailing trend. As if the team just could not decide whether it wanted to score or not, Tulsa would hit another unlucky frame. The Golden Hurricane would go 0-6 and not score for the next five minutes of the game. In fact, its despair seemed to play into the Owls’ favor. Its opponents went on to score 12 points and take a 9-point lead of 23-32.
With another flip in performance, Tulsa would outscore the Owls in the last three minutes. Its 10-2 scoring run would cut a 10-point gap to one, ending the half at 34-35.
The beginning of the second half was pointing towards a winning path for the Owls, the team scoring on its first six possessions. This would give them another 9-point lead, the score sitting at 49-40. This forced an early timeout from Tulsa. Coming out of the half, the Golden Hurricane would score some points of its own, however, the Owls would continue to hold that 9-point lead. With 10 minutes left in the half, Temple stayed ahead of Tulsa 61-52. When all things seemed lost, Jared Garcia would get things going. His hook shot sparked a fire, and it was followed by a jumper from Dwon Odom. Its streak would continue when Barnes and Odom would serve the Owls with some back-to-back dunks. This would bring the Golden Hurricane back to being within one point of the Owls.
To ensure that Temple did not go back into a far lead, Odom would turn up the heat on defense. He would steal the possession and assist Willis in another point for the Golden Hurricane. The pair would continue to drive the team forward, another assist from Odom to Willis leading a scored trey.
Temple would not allow Tulsa to keep the lead for long, scoring six points in a row to take it back 65-67. The Owls’ performance makes it clear why it stayed undefeated on home turf for as long as it did. Odom and Willis would prove to be the game’s must-watch players, the two continuing to show up for the Golden Hurricane. Their efforts would be the main contribution to its victory. In fact, it was the pair’s final free throw shots that propelled the Golden Hurricane to its 80-74 victory over the Owls.
This win improved its conference record 4-8 (10-15 overall). The Owls fell 6-6 in the American with an overall record of 14-11. The Golden Hurricane returned home to host the UTSA Roadrunners at the Reynolds Center on the following Saturday. Tulsa continued to reap rewards that weekend, as it skidded by the Roadrunners 80-76 to take another victory. The team is now on the road to face North Texas on Feb. 19 at 7 p.m. CDT. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ for all Golden Hurricane fans to enjoy.
