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Tulsa holds on to edge USF in overtime
- Updated: February 1, 2015
On two occasions Saturday, the collective breath of University of Tulsa fans was held when Rashad Smith launched a 3-pointer.
Smith, who entered the game having made six career 3-pointers and shooting 18.8 percent from beyond the arc, found himself open on the wing twice during overtime and twice hit the shot.
“We work on it in practice,” Smith said. “If we are open, take a shot and shoot it with confidence. That’s what I tried to do today.”
Behind Smith’s 21 points, TU held off South Florida 78-71 in a back-and-forth thriller at the Reynolds Center that extended the Hurricane’s winning streak to 11 in a row and kept it unbeaten and in first place in the American Athletic Conference standings.
After the Bulls led by four with four minutes left in regulation, James Woodard sank back-to-back 3-pointers, and TU matched its opponent the rest of the way. On the final possession, USF sharpshooter Corey Allen Jr. missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
In overtime, the Hurricane found the stroke that had been missing when it started 1-of-16 from 3-point range. Woodard made another 3, and Smith followed with the first of his, spurred by regained confidence from his performance throughout the game.
When TU was clinging to a two-point lead in the final minute, Smith calmly hit his second 3-pointer, and his teammates connected on 4-of-5 free throws the rest of the way.
“We were OK with (Smith) making the elbow shots and the contested 2s, but he started seeing the ball go in the basket and then he was hitting 3s in overtime,” USF coach Orlando Antigua said. “They made the plays down the stretch and we have to give them credit. Frank has got them playing in a really good rhythm.”
After the Hurricane trailed 8-0, it fought back and kept the game close because of reserve forward Brandon Swannegan, who delivered a three-minute stretch that featured momentum-changing plays on both ends of the court.
“We had a lot of guys step up and make big plays,” Haith said. “I thought Brandon kept us in the game with his energy, blocking shots, getting timely rebounds, getting up second shots and scoring.”
Playing a career-high 29 minutes, Swannegan finished with his first career double-double and had career highs in points (12) and rebounds (15) while tying a career high with five blocks.
“Coach Haith and the coaching staff have been staying on me, telling me I can reach a higher level,” Swannegan said. “They have helped me prepare for games and I just paid them back today.”
TU (16-5, 9-0 AAC) appeared lethargic on defense for much of regulation and had a difficult time stopping the Bulls, who dropped their seventh game in a row. Allen burned the Hurricane for 32 points, and USF’s three starting guards scored all but five of their team’s points.
“Every team in this conference is good,” Smith said. “You have to bring your ‘A’ game every single game, no matter what the records look like. … Today, if we didn’t bring the (right) mind-set, we could’ve easily lost. We just have to stay on each other and stick with the discipline.”
