Pope, Akanno rally Oregon State to 73-70 victory over Tulsa

Nov 8, 2023, 07:32 am

CORVALLIS, Ore. -- — Jordan Pope had 19 points, Dexter Akanno scored 18 and Oregon State overcame a 19-point deficit to beat Tulsa 73-70 in a season opener on Monday night.

Two free throws by Bryant Selebangue gave Tulsa a 41-22 lead with 2:45 remaining in the first half. Anthony Pritchard closed out the scoring with a three-point play and the Golden Hurricane led 44-28 at intermission.

Pope hit a 3-pointer to open the second half for Oregon State and then fed Glenn Taylor Jr. for a layup off a Tulsa turnover. Pope, Dzmitry Ryuny and Dexter Akanno followed with back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers to cap a 14-0 run and the Beavers trailed 44-42 with 15:27 left to play.

The Golden Hurricane stayed in front until Pope sank four straight free throws to knot the score at 59 with 5:31 remaining after Tulsa's Sterling Gaston-Chapman was charged with a foul and a Class A Technical.

The lead went back and forth until Akanno sank two free throws and followed a Pope layup with one of his own, giving OSU a 70-64 lead with 2:28 left. The Beavers never trailed again in upping their record to 9-0 in season openers under Wayne Tinkle.

Taylor finished with 16 points for the Beavers, while Ryuny scored 11.

Sam Griffin hit five 3-pointers and led Tulsa with 29 points. Selebangue added 15 points and nine rebounds, while Brandon Betson scored 13.

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