Connecticut head coach Kevin Ollie reacts to his team’s offensive play during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Tulsa in Tulsa, Okla., Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016. Tulsa defeated UConn 60-51. (AP Photo/Dave Crenshaw)
The UConn men’s basketball team dropped their first road game of the year, falling to Tulsa 60-51.
It was an offensive struggle for the Huskies all evening. UConn (11-5, 2-2 American) shot just 30.9 percent from the field, including 8-29 from three point range.
Sterling Gibbs scored 20 points and Shonn Miller contributed 14 points and eight rebounds to lead UConn.
For the third consecutive game, sophomore forward Daniel Hamilton struggled. He finished with 5 points on 2-12 shooting. Guard Rodney Purvis had his worst game of the season, scoring just 5 points on 1-9 from the field. It was the first time all season Purvis failed to crack double digits in points.
It was a game of long runs for both sides. UConn got up by as much as 11 in the first half and took an eight point lead in the second half, but the Golden Hurricanes worked their way back each time.
Tulsa took control of the game during a 19-4 run late in the second half. Guard James Woodard scored 20 points and added nine rebounds to lead Tulsa.
The score was knotted at halftime 26-26. UConn started the second half hot, going on a 10-2 after Gibbs drilled a three-pointer nearly four minutes into the half.
The game looked to be firmly in UConn’s hands. They held Tulsa to 1-10 from the field over the first seven minutes of the half until Brandon Swannegan’s layup to cut Tulsa’s deficit to three. The Golden Hurricanes closed the game on a 26-14 run.
UConn will finish their two game road trip on Sunday when they head to Houston to take on the Cougars.
Elan-Paolo DeCarlo is a staff writer for The Daily Campus, covering men’s basketball. He can be reached via email at elan-paolo.decarlo@uconn.edu. He tweets @ElanDeCarlo.