Banks Is Money in 66ers Victory

The game started out sloppy on both sides, but especially for the 66ers as they fell behind early and trailed 38-29 with 7:12 to go in the first half. Arkansas, which was led by forward Pape Sow’s 20 points and 14 rebounds, looked to have the game in control. But it was Banks and the Tulsa bench that sparked the 66ers to close out the half on a 19-5 run, in which they held the RimRockers to only two made field goals over the last seven minutes plus.

“Our bench really sparked after the sluggish start,” said Tulsa head coach Joey Meyer. “Players like Marcus Hill, Seamus Boxley and Cezary Trybanski played with great energy to get us back in the ballgame.”

Tulsa started out the second half as hot as they had ended the first, going on a quick 8-2 run and extending the lead to 56-45 at 9:35 of the third quarter. However, Arkansas, on the back of some strong inside play from forward Shawnson Johnson, who finished with 17 points and seven rebounds, cut the lead to one early in the fourth before 66ers forward Ersan Ilyasova grabbed a rebound and hit Boxley deep down court for an easy slam, widening the lead back to three. Ilyasova totaled eight points and six rebounds for the night, while Boxley grabbed three points and one rebound.

A series of turnovers and some good shooting from the 66ers’ newest member, Marcus Taylor, quickly stretched the lead back to 77-69 with 8:21 remaining. Taylor was recently signed by the 66ers following the Gatorade Callup of John Lucas III to the NBA’s Houston Rockets.

Tulsa slammed the door on the RimRockers at the 3:30 mark when Desmon Farmer hit Banks on an alley-oop over Arkansas’ Chris Shumate. The play also drew a foul that extended Tulsa’s lead to 90-79. The 66ers cruised to the victory from there.

“These games are why you have 11 players on a team,” said Meyer. “This was a team win tonight.”

The 66ers return to action Friday as they take on the RimRockers once again. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Expo Square Pavilion.