Final: UConn Defeats Tulsa, 75-73
STORRS, Conn. - Rodney Purvis was glad UConn had a short turnaround following Thursday’s late-game collapse in Philadelphia.
Roughly 47 hours after losing to Temple, the Huskies bounced back against Tulane with a 75-73 winSaturdaynight at Gampel Pavilion. UConn (18-7, 8-4 American Athletic Conference) moved into a half-game ahead of the Golden Hurricane (16-9, 8-5) for fourth place in the standings.
Five Huskies scored in double figures with Omar Calhoun and Sterling Gibbs each having 14. Daniel Hamilton added 12, Purvis had 11 and Shonn Miller with 10. UConn was 11-for-24 from the perimeter, led by Calhoun’s 4 of 6.
Pat Birt II scored 21 of his team-high 24 points in the second half for Tulsa, which is 0-4 lifetime in the Nutmeg State against UConn. Marquel Curtis had 14 and Shaq Harrison 12 as Tulane scored 52 points in the second half - hitting 60 percent of its shots - to make the game a close one.
UConn took its largest lead, 46-26, after Calhoun hit his fourth 3-pointer with17:10to play. However, the Huskies made just 5 of their next 16 field goal attempts and Tulsa stormed back with a 23-10 run to close the gap to 56-49 with 7:49 to play.
Purvis and Daniel Hamilton hit 3-pointers to give UConn a little breathing room at 62-51, but the Golden Hurricane kept bombing away. Birt made his sixth of the game - five coming in the second half - to make it 65-60 with4:25remaining. Tulsa shot 9 of 21 on 3-pointers overall.
It got even tighter with Tulsa’s mini 4-0 run cutting UConn’s lead to 67-64 with1:38to play. After Purvis missed a 3 at the other end, Jalen Adams hustled for the rebound to keep the ball alive for UConn. Purvis converted the second time, using a one-hand jumper in the lane to make it 69-64.
The Huskies were hot from the perimeter in the first half, hitting 6 of 9 on 3-pointers to take a 34-21 lead. Purvis, Calhoun and Gibbs each hit a pair of 3s.
Purvis’ second 3-pointer gave UConn a 13-12 and started a 22-6 run that resulted in a 32-18 lead with to play. The Huskies made seven straight field goals over that stretch and shot 59.1 percent in the half.
The Golden Hurricane were just 7 of 22 from the field and turned the ball over 10 times. No player had more than four points in the half.