Tulsa pulls out big road win over No. 16 SMU
Shaquille Harrison had 21 points, Pat Birt hit a crucial 3-pointer and scored 12 of his 17 points after halftime and Tulsa rallied from eight points down in the second half to beat No. 16 SMU 82-77 on Wednesday night.
Nic Moore scored 27 to lead the Mustangs (20-3, 9-3 American Athletic). They lost for the first time in 13 home games and dropped to 2-3 since their 18-0 start to a season that won't include postseason play because of NCAA sanctions.
Moore twice hit 3-pointers to pull SMU within a point in the final minute, but Birt answered the first with a 3 and James Woodard followed the second with two of his six free throws in the final 1:04. Woodard scored 20 points.
"Our offense was good enough," SMU coach Larry Brown said. "But we didn't get stops."
The Golden Hurricane (16-8, 8-4) ended a four-game losing streak against SMU with their eighth win in 10 games since an 0-2 conference start.
The Mustangs, who can't play in the conference tournament but can win the regular-season title, are a half-game ahead of Temple atop the AAC.
SMU had its biggest lead at 60-52 with about 9 minutes remaining was still up six with 6 minutes to go when Woodard hit a 3-pointer, Harrison scored inside and Birt made one of his three second-half 3-pointers to put Tulsa ahead 69-68 with 3:25 left.
D'Andre Wright put the Golden Hurricane ahead for good at 73-71 on a layup. After Moore's last 3 got SMU within 78-77 with 20 seconds to go, the Mustangs almost stole the inbound pass before Tulsa secured the ball and got Woodard to the line, where he was 8 of 9.
Larry Brown and second-year Tulsa coach Frank Haith traded timeouts before the first media break in the second half, starting with SMU's Hall of Fame coach after a 9-0 Tulsa run broke a 36-all tie.
Haith had to match it when Markus Kennedy, who had all 13 of his points in the second half, scored inside twice and blocked a shot before a floater in the lane by Moore pulled SMU to 45-42. The SMU run reached 11-0 — all the points by Kennedy and Moore — on Moore's 3-pointer for a 47-45 SMU lead.
"Showed a lot of resiliency out here tonight," Haith said. "Second half we get up eight or nine and lose the lead."
Tulsa ended a four-game losing streak against SMU. Before that, the Golden Hurricane had won 13 of 15 meetings with the Mustangs. They now lead the series 31-17.
TIP-INS
Tulsa: Brandon Swannegan was called for a flagrant foul after a review when the 6-foot-9 forward backed into Moore and knocked the 5-9 guard to the floor. ... Harrison and Birt had five rebounds to lead Tulsa along with Rashad Smith.