Bearcats Defeat Tulsa 70-65 in Wild Overtime Affair

In a game where a lot of things went against them, the Cincinnati Bearcats somehow pulled out a 70-65 overtime win against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane on Thursday night.

The game only went to overtime because of a flurry of epic and sometimes puzzling events at the end of regulation.

With 1:16 to play, the Golden Hurricane were getting ready to go into victory formation, as they held a 57-51 lead. That’s when Cane Broome got going, draining a three and a jumper to cut the deficit to one with 22 seconds to play. Following split free throws from Tulsa, the Bearcats got the ball back. Once again, Broome was the hero, taking a jab step to open up space for what looked like a game-winning three-pointer. However, it was ruled that his foot was on the line, meaning the game was tied.

Things only got weirder from there.

Tulsa turned the ball over with 1.2 seconds remaining, giving the Bearcats a chance to win the game. Unfortunately, the Bearcats didn’t capitalize on such a gift, turning the ball over on their own inbound pass, sending the game to overtime.

In the extra period, the Bearcats finally exerted their will, with Jarron Cumberland scoring six quick points before a dagger three from Trevor Moore and a layup from Trevon Scott with more than a minute to play.

Broome finished with a game-high 16 points for the Bearcats (13-3, 2-1 American Athletic Conference). Jarron Cumberland and Keith Williams both netted 14 points and Trevon Scott tallied 12 points and nine rebounds. Cumberland only made 5-of-16 shots from the floor, including 2-of-8 from three-point range. Williams was more efficient and the lead scorer for most of the game, but he fouled out with 40 seconds left in regulation.

For as thrilling a win as this was, there were a lot of worrisome trends. The Bearcats allowed Tulsa to shoot 60.9 percent from three (14-of-23) and win the rebounding battle (36-33). They managed to mitigate that by outscoring their hosts 22-4 in the paint while forcing 22 turnovers.

After such an improbable win, the Bearcats will be rewarded with a return to Fifth Third Arena against the UConn Huskies this Saturday.