Men’s Basketball — Demons can’t overcome Tulsa’s fast start, fall to Golden Hurricane

TULSA, Oklahoma – Very little went according to plan or paper for the Northwestern State men’s basketball team Friday night.

The Demons caught host Tulsa in the midst of its best long-range shooting game of the season as the Golden Hurricane rode a deadeye first-half barrage from beyond the arc to an early lead and eventual 82-55 victory inside the Donald W. Reynolds Center.

“We got beat by an extremely good basketball team,” head coach Mike McConathy said. “(Tulsa coach) Frank Haith is going to find what works, and he is going to run it, run it, run it.”

Tulsa (2-3) entered the game shooting 27 percent from 3-point range but buried seven of 12 first-half 3s, putting the Demons (1-6) on their heels early.

Austin Richie, who entered the game averaging two points per game, connected on four first-half 3-pointers to propel the Golden Hurricane to an 18-point halftime lead, a lead that would have been even larger if not for freshman Carvell Teasett.

For the second time in the first seven games of his college career, Teasett at least nine points in the first half of a game, hitting three 3s and tallying 11 first-half points. The Scotlandville High School product finished with 16 points, marking the second straight game in which he has paced NSU offensively.

While the Golden Hurricane were shooting well, the Demons struggled to put the ball in the basket. NSU connected on just eight of 33 of its first-half field goal attempts (24.2 percent).

“We had good looks,” McConathy said. “They just didn’t go down. Then when that happened, our energy drained, and it looked like we were just going through the motions.”

Tulsa capitalized on the Demons’ offensive struggles, putting together a 25-2 first-half run that turned a four-point NSU lead into a 19-point Golden Hurricane advantage.

The Demons began to find their stride offensively in the second half, shooting 43.3 percent from the field and playing more aggressively.

Jamaure Gregg posted eight of his 12 points in the second half while Trenton Massner had six of his nine after halftime.

“We still struggle with getting the ball inside,” McConathy said. “Our post passing from one post to another is not very effective. I thought Jamaure had some moments. In the second half, he was really good. He caught the ball and shot it or made a quick drive to the basket.”

Buoyed by its fast start, Tulsa shot 49.2 percent (30-for-61) from the field for the game, including hitting nine of 20 3-pointers.

While Tulsa slowed down from outside in the second half, the Golden Hurricane consistently worked the ball inside, leading to a 38-20 advantage in points in the paint.

Richie finished with a game-high 19 points, leading three Tulsa players in double figures. The Golden Hurricane also got 11 points from Keyshawn Embery-Simpson and 10 from Rey Idowu.

The Demons wrap up a set of back-to-back games Saturday, facing Missouri State at 7 p.m. in Springfield, Missouri. The two-step of games is part of a larger four-game road trip that continues through Dec. 23.