The University of Tulsa fell in a close battle 64-59 at East Carolina on Saturday afternoon in the Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.
Tulsa fell to 9-18 and 3-13 in the American Athletic Conference, while East Carolina improved to 15-13, 6-10 AAC. Tulsa finishes the season 1-10 in conference road games.
Darien Jackson led all Tulsa scorers with 17, shooting 75 percent from the floor. He also was 3-of-4 on 3-pointers, connecting on multiple big shots near the end of the game. Jeriah Horne scored 14 points and had six rebounds. Rey Idowu led the team with nine rebounds, and Curtis Haywood II was 2-of-2 from deep for eight points and had six rebounds, playing 30 minutes.
ECU's Tristen Newton led all scorers with 27 points. He was joined in double figures by Vance Jackson with 12.
Tulsa shot 44 percent for the game, only 25 percent in the second half, while East Carolina finished with 39 percent shooting. From beyond the arc, Tulsa knocked down nine of its 19 attempts (47 percent), while East Carolina connected on 10 threes and shot 46 percent.
The Hurricane turned it over 20 times and ECU limited its turnovers to eight, while creating 11 steals to TU's 3.
East Carolina took its largest lead of the night, 60-53, with only 2:07 to play in the game, putting Tulsa in a tight spot. Jackson got the ball for Tulsa and drove to the hoop, making a tough layup while getting fouled. He converted on the 3-point play to bring Tulsa within four, 60-56, with just under two minutes left.
After a good defensive stop from the Hurricane, the two teams traded missed jump shots. On Tulsa's next possession, the ball found its way into Jackson's hands, and the graduate senior didn't hesitate in knocking down a massive 3-point shot to get the Hurricane within one with 35 seconds remaining.
Tulsa opted to play defense, forcing a tough turnaround jumper from Newton, but his attempt found the bottom of the net, increasing the ECU lead to 62-59 with 5.4 to play.
East Carolina fouled Idowu, whose one-and-one was off the mark, but it went out off a Pirate, giving Tulsa one last shot. The Hurricane failed to get the rebound in safely and after a pair of free throws, ECU secured the win.
Tulsa shot its best in the first half, knocking down 68 percent of its shots from the field and hitting seven 3-pointers on 11 attempts (64 percent). However, Tulsa turned it over 12 times in the opening half, which resulted in 19 points for East Carolina and allowed the Pirates to keep it close. Tulsa eventually took a 36-34 lead into the locker rooms.
The two teams traded early buckets before back-to-back ECU threes put the Pirates up 10-4. The Hurricane responded with 3-pointers from Haywood II and LaDavius Draine to match, tying the game with 14:07 to play in the half.
East Carolina scored a quick five points after a 3-pointer and then a miscommunication on Tulsa's inbounds allowed a layup. Rey Idowu went on a 6-0 run of his own, including two dunks, to give Tulsa a 16-15 lead before an ECU 3-pointer quelled the mini-run.
The teams traded the lead a couple of times the remainder of the half. But Tulsa went on a 9-of-9 stretch from the field to take its largest lead of the afternoon, 35-27 with 3:08 remaining in the half. The Hurricane would finish with only one free throw the rest of the first half.
Griffin led Tulsa with 9 points in the first half, while Haywood and Idowu each put up eight. East Carolina's Newton scored 17 in the opening half.
Tulsa returns to the Reynolds Center for the final home games. The Hurricane face Wichita State on Wednesday before wrapping up the conference schedule with UCF on Senior Day. Tipoff for Wednesday's game is set for 8 p.m. and will air on either ESPN2 or ESPNU.
