March 14, 2008
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Ben Uzoh scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half and overtime as Tulsa advanced to the Conference USA Tournament championship game with a 64-62 win over UTEP on Friday night at the FedExForum in Memphis.
Uzoh was 6-for-6 from the line as the Golden Hurricane (20-12) went 15-for-19 at the charity stripe. UTEP missed 10 of 18 free throws.
"The most important thing that you have to do in postseason play is make free throws," UTEP coach Tony Barbee said. "In a one or two-point game that makes a big difference. We were 8-for-18 and they were 15-for-19. That's a big difference."
The Miners took their only lead of the game, 2-0, on a steal and layup by Marvin Kilgore in the opening 18 seconds. Tulsa went on a 14-0 run to build a 14-2 lead, its largest of the night. The Miners utilized a 16-4 spurt to knot the game at 18. But Tulsa ended the half with a 13-2 run to take a 33-21 lead into the locker room.
UTEP (19-13) shot 28.6 percent in the first half. The Miners heated up to 51.6 percent shooting in the second half, but never could regain the lead. UTEP tied the game at 57 with 31 seconds remaining on a jumper by Stefon Jackson, who had a team-high 18 points. Uzoh missed a three pointer with two seconds left.
Tulsa went ahead for good, 59-57, on a pair of free throws by Calvin Walls with 3:20 to go in overtime. Uzoh's foul shots with 36 seconds left extended the lead to 63-59. UTEP's Randy Culpepper was fouled, made the first free throw and missed the second, but got his own offensive rebound and hit a jumper to close the gap to 63-62. After Tulsa's Brett McDade split two free throws, Jackson's three pointer from midcourt fell short as the buzzer sounded.
"That's what postseason play is all about. Both teams were fighting their hearts out," Barbee said. "We had some defensive lapses in the first half, which you can't do in postseason play. You can't dig yourself a hole like that because you expend so much energy digging yourself out and you don't have that at this point of the season. I thought we ran out of gas a little bit in overtime. We missed some shots that we normally knock down. I thought that showed that we were a little tired."
Culpepper scored 14 points on 5-for-16 shooting, but was 0-for-6 from three point range as the Miners were 2-for-19 from beyond the arc.
Jerome Jordan and Walls each scored 12 points for Tulsa, which shot 40 percent and outrebounded UTEP 42-38. The Miners forced 19 turnovers while committing only nine.
UTEP hopes to extend its season with a bid to the NIT or the new College Basketball Invitational later this weekend.
"Hats off to Tulsa," Barbee said. "That was a disappointing end for us, but I'm proud of the heart the team showed. We have a lot to build on for next year with all of the young guys and guys that we have returning. I'm proud of the seniors. I truly believe this team deserves postseason play, but if it doesn't happen, we have a lot to build on for next year."
