Tulsa’s comeback fell short as Wichita State hung on to beat the Golden Hurricane, 81-68, in the American Conference Tournament semifinals on Saturday at Legacy Arena in Birmingham. It was Tulsa’s first appearance in the ACC semifinals since 2015.

The Golden Hurricane is now 26-7 overall and 13-5 in the American. TU received a bid to play in the NIT and will play on Tuesday March 17, at home at 8 p.m. against Stephen F. Austin  with the game airing on ESPNU (see bracket below).

It was a low scoring, close game in the first half and Wichita State led 39-33 at halftime.

Tulsa trailed by as many as 20 in the second half but cut the deficit to 10 at one point, before the Shockers pulled away down the stretch.

Tylen Riley led Tulsa with 18 points, including three 3-pointers. Tyler Behrend contributed 13 points and six rebounds before fouling out. Miles Barnstable scored 14 points, including four 3-pointers. David Green scored five points in the first half but left the game with an injury and didn’t play in the second half.

The Shockers were led by Kenyon Giles with 27 points, Michael Gray Jr. added 13 and Karon Boyd had 12.

WSU outrebounded Tulsa, 42-34, and outshot TU 47.5% to 36.5% from the field.