Tulsa upsets No. 11 Wichita State

TULSA, Okla. - Shaquille Harrison scored 20 points and Marquel Curtis added 16 to help Tulsa upset No. 11 Wichita State 77-67 on Tuesday night, overcoming three years of frustration against the Shockers, who had won a school record seven straight in the long-running series.

The Shockers (1-1) were led by Ron Baker with 23 points and Anton Grady with 18. All-conference guard Fred VanVleet, hobbled by a sprained ankle and sore hamstring, added 11.

A four-point play by junior college transfer Pat Birt at 9:18 gave Tulsa a 57-51 advantage and the Hurricane slowly built on the advantage until it reached 69-57 with 4:02 left on two free throws by Harrison. WSU never came closer than nine points down the stretch.

Birt finished with 14 points and James Woodard had 13 for Tulsa, 2-0, which outrebounded Wichita State 38-32 and shot 46 percent to WSU’s 36.4 percent (20-for-55).

VanVleet singlehandedly erased a 30-22 deficit in the final 1:15 of the first half with three consecutive 3-pointers. The first came with the shot clock at one second from about 30 feet, the second with 44 seconds left pulled WSU within 30-28 and the third came after he launched a long 3 over Rashad Ray and with one second left in the half.

Until that point, Tulsa had maintained a slim lead since Woodard’s 3-pointer gave the Hurricane a 14-12 advantage. The biggest lead was at 30-22 on a lob from Ray to DeAndre Wright with 2:28 left in the half.

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