Tulsa advances with 85-66 win over Loyola Chicago

The first round of the Myrtle Beach Invitational turned out to be a true underdog story, as Tulsa’s 85-66 victory over Loyola-Chicago in the final game of the day gave all four underdogs opening-round victories.

The game was tied 30-30 at halftime, and was still knotted at 38 five minutes into the second half. But a pair of 3-pointers by Tim Dagler gave Tulsa (2-1) a 46-38 advantage, and moments later the Golden Hurricane scored 12 consecutive points to push the lead to 58-41 midway through the half.

Loyola (2-1) trimmed the margin to 64-52 with seven minutes to play, before the Golden Hurricane put the game away with a 10-0 run that made the score 74-52.

Sam Griffin led Tulsa in scoring with 20 points, Brandon Betson added 18, and Dagler had 17 points and nine rebounds. Philip Alston was the only player to reach double figures in scoring for Loyola, finishing with 18 points and six boards.

NOTES

• Loyola started 4-6 3pt-FG but then ended 2-16
• Tulsa scored more in the second half (55) than either team did in the previous game (54, 42)
• Loyola gives up 85+ points for the 11th time since the start of the 2010-11 season (excluding a 2-OT game in which they gave up 81 in regulation)