TULSA, Okla. -- The final play wasn't quite what Tulsa drew up. It was, though, more than Elijah Joiner ever could've imagined.
With his father watching him play in college for the first time, Joiner caught an inbounds pass with 3.3 seconds left, raced across the court and hit an off-balance 3-pointer as time expired, lifting Tulsa over No. 23 Wichita State 54-51 on Saturday.
Joiner's shot touched off a wild celebration as hundreds of students stormed the court. Later, the junior guard sobbed in the interview room, saying how much it meant for his father to witness the game.
Joiner grew up in Chicago with his mother and stepdad, and he only recently has begun to reestablish a relationship with his father. Joiner put on a terrific show at the Reynolds Center, then unabashedly showed how much it meant after the game.
"I never pictured this moment with my father here for the first time," he said with tears streaming. "It meant so much to me to see him in the crowd. He's here, and I'm just so happy he's here."
Joiner shot 5-for-6 on 3s and scored 22 points for Tulsa (15-6, 7-1 AAC), which won its sixth in a row. In its previous home game, the Golden Hurricane routed then-No. 20 Memphis 80-40.
Martins Igbanu, who tied the score at 51 with two free throws with 43 seconds left, had 10 points for Tulsa.
Joiner said Igbanu was the first option on Tulsa's final play. But Brandon Rachal found Joiner instead and he raced from his own foul line to just outside the 3-point line before making the leaning, contested shot at the buzzer.
"Our strength is in numbers," Tulsa coach Frank Haith said. "We have a lot of guys who can make plays, but tonight it was Elijah's turn. He was truly outstanding tonight, and we needed every point he made."
The veteran coach called it the most dramatic winning shot he has witnessed.
"Congratulations to Tulsa," Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall said. "Tulsa made the plays you have to make. They made 50% of their 3s [7-of-14]. Joiner goes 5-of-6 and makes a beautiful shot at the end."
Jaime Echenique scored 15 for Wichita State (17-4, 5-3) but only two in the second half.
Erik Stevenson missed a 3-pointer for Wichita State with 22 seconds left and teammate Jamarius Burton snared the rebound. The Shockers went for the last shot but never took it, incurring a shot clock violation with 3.3 seconds left, setting up Joiner's play.
The contest was tight, physical and hotly contested throughout. Wichita State's largest lead was six while Tulsa never led by more than three.
Wichita State held Tulsa leading scorer Rachal to two points on 1-of-10 shooting. The Shockers limited Tulsa to 37.2% shooting (16-for-43) but made just 34.5% of their own (20-for-58).