The Sports Xchange
Dec 9, 2017
Tulsa forward Junior Etou had 22 points and seven rebounds and the Golden Hurricanes held the Kansas State Wildcats without a field goal in the final five minutes for a 61-54 victory in the Wildcat Wichita Classic at Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita on Saturday.
Martins Igbanu had 10 points and made all eight of his free throws for the Hurricanes (5-4), including two with 30 seconds remaining for a 59-54 lead.
Xavier Sneed had 15 points, Dean Wade had 13 and Kamau Stokes had 11 for the Wildcats (8-2), whose only previous loss was a 92-90 setback to No .16 Arizona State in the semifinals of the Las Vegas Invitational.
Etou made 5-of-7 3-pointers, one short of his career high, and freshman Elijah Joiner made two 3s in the final six minutes, the last to break a tie at 53 for a lead the Hurricanes never lost.
Neither team led by more than three points in the second half until Joiner hit a free throw for 57-53 lead with 1:53 remaining. There were seven ties and 11 lead changes in the second half.
Sterling Taplin had nine points and eight rebounds and Igbanu had seven rebounds as Golden Hurricanes took a 40-30 advantage on the boards.
Neither team shot well. Tulsa made 40.4 percent from the floor and Kansas State shot 32.1 percent. The Wildcats made 4-of-31 3-point attempts. They were averaging 8 1/2 makes a game on 39 percent accuracy. Sneed made 2-of-8 from distance and Brown was 1-of-8.
Kansas State trailed by as many as six points in the first half before ending on a 22-13 run for a 30-27 lead. Sneed had 13 points and two 3-pointers and Etou had nine points in the half.