66ers comeback falls short in final home game
BY DUANE DAPRON World Correspondent
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
3/28/12 at 4:07 AM
Tulsa has had its share of big comebacks this season but the 66ers could not pull off a dramatic rally in the team's regular-season home finale Tuesday night.
Trailing by 16 points entering the final quarter, Tulsa made things interesting, creeping to within three points on two occasions, before falling to Bakersfield 108-102 in NBA D-League action before 2,237 fans at the Tulsa Convention Center.
Dwight Buycks matched his season high with a game-high 30 points, including eight during Tulsa's fourth-quarter rally, as the 66ers fell to 22-24 with four regular-season contests - all on the road - remaining.
Tulsa, now in fifth place in the D-League's West Conference, is still in the mix for a possible playoff berth.
"We have to take one game at a time," Tulsa head coach Dale Osbourne said.
"But we have to come out and play early. We can't wait until the last nine minutes of the game to play defense."
Bakersfield (26-18), which stands in third place in the West Conference, shot a blistering 62.5 percent from the field (32-of-48) and added 23 of 32 free throws to build a seemingly comfortable 91-75 lead after three quarters.
But Buycks and Jerome Dyson, who tallied 14 points, combined for 15 points in the game's final 12 minutes to help Tulsa roar back.
The 66ers still trailed by 10 points until Buycks, who also had a game-high eight assists, hit a jumper on the left baseline - his sixth unanswered point - to pull Tulsa within 103-95 with 2:51 to play.
"Dwight carried us tonight," Osbourne said. "He made some big plays from the point guard position and showed good leadership."
Dyson then added two free throws and a second-chance 3-pointer from the wing to bring Tulsa within 103-100 with 1:38 left.
Tulsa, which connected on 51.6 percent of its field goals (32-of-62), had a chance to get even closer but committed a turnover with 1:14 to play.
Bakersfield converted that miscue into a 17-foot jumper from the left side by Jeremy Wise for a 105-100 advantage at the 0:52 mark.
After two free throws by Dyson, Wise hit a runner in the lane to put the Jam back in front by five with 17 seconds remaining.
Marcus Lewis added 19 points and nine rebounds for Tulsa, just missing his 32nd double-double of the season.
Tulsa, which has now won six of its last eight after a stretch of dropping nine of 10 games, concludes the regular season with a pair of games at Rio Grande Valley and then two contests at Maine.
Original Print Headline: Bakersfield finishes 66ers
