Tulsa’s Shamari Brooks scored on a 15-yard run in overtime, and the Golden Hurricane defense shutdown Tulane, giving Tulsa a 20-13 victory over the Tulane Green Wave, Saturday in New Orleans. It was Brooks’ sixth touchdown of the season.
Tulsa scored 13 points in the first half, and failed to score in the second half, until the overtime game winning touchdown. The Golden Hurricane had 141 yards of total offense in the first half, while holding Tulane to 45 first half yards.
The Golden Hurricane offense struggled in the second half and ended the game with four turnovers with one fumble and three interceptions.
“I was very proud of our defense and the way they played throughout much of the game,” said Tulsa head coach Philip Montgomery. “Our defense rose up and did some outstanding things to win the game. Our offense found a way in overtime to score and our defense went back out and ended it.”
Brooks ended the game with 71 yards rushing, while Ezra Naylor II led Tulsa receivers with 62 yards on seven catches, as both players scored Tulsa’s touchdowns. Defensively, Justin Wright had 12 tackles.
Tulsa improved to 4-6 overall and 3-3 in American Athletic Conference action, while Tulane fell to 1-9 and 0-6. The Golden Hurricane can still become bowl eligible by winning the final two games on their schedule.
Tulsa will its final home game of the season Saturday at 3:00 p.m. against the Temple Owls, at H.A. Chapman Stadium.
Temple is currently 3-7 overall and 1-5 in the American Athletic Conference. The Owls have averaged only 17.2 points per game, while the Golden Hurricane have an average of 23.7 points. Temple has allowed 36.8 points per game, and Tulsa has given up an average of 28.8.
TU soccer To NCAA Tournament
Marcos Moreno scored the game-winning goal in the 82nd minute to give the No. 2 ranked Tulsa men’s soccer team a 2-1 win over UCF, Sunday in the American Athletic Conference Championship at the Hurricane Soccer and Track Stadium.
“I am proud of our guys for going for it and chasing that trophy,” Head Coach Tom McIntosh said. “I thought our substitutes were tremendous and I am so happy with Will Edwards and Marcos Moreno because they took advantage of their minutes. We have more depth up top than we did a year ago and I think we’ve found more ways to score goals than besides relying on the two guys up top.”
Tulsa’s Til Zinnhardt was named the Defensive Player of the Tournament and was tabbed to the all-tournament team, while Mitchell Cashion, Mariano Fazio, Marcos Moreno and Alvaro Torrijos were also all-tournament selections.
This was TU’s fourth American Athletic Conference tournament title as the Hurricane also earned the 2014, 2015 and 2016 championships, and ninth overall.
The Golden Hurricane, which is ranked No. 2 in the nation by United Soccer Coaches, has a 15-1-1 overall record and tallied an 8-1-1 mark in league play.
Tulsa will play in the NCAA Tournament, which begins this Thursday.