Wichita State’s comeback fell short as Tulsa held on for an 83-79 win on Tuesday in the Reynolds Center. The Golden Hurricane advanced to the semifinals of the NIT for the third time in program history.

Tulsa has won the NIT semifinals games each of the last two times they made it that far.

The Golden Hurricane opened the game with a 5-0 run and continued to build their lead from there. David Green slammed a posterized dunk with 15:26 left in the first half, to give Tulsa a 10-point lead, 12-2.

Tylen Riley made a two-point jumper at with 48 seconds left in the first half to give Tulsa a 52-36 lead at the break.

Wichita State battled back in the second half and cut Tulsa’s lead to only two-points, 66-64, with 8:16 remaining in the game. Tulsa held off the Shockers down the stretch with some timely free throws to secure the win.

Leading the way for Tulsa was Miles Barnstable with 24 points, including five 3-pointers. Tylen Riley had 21 points, including going 8-for-8 from the free throw line, and six assists. Ade Popoola contributed 12 points, including three successful shots from beyond the three-point line.

The Shockers were led by Dillon Battie with 17 points and Karon Boyd with 13 points.

Tulsa will face New Mexico in the NIT semifinals on Thursday evening at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The game will begin at 6:00 p.m. CDT on ESPN. The winner will advance to the NIT Championship game on Sunday at 7:00 p.m. CDT on ESPN2.