TULSA, Okla. - Tulsa rallied from second half and overtime deficits to defeat Stephen F. Austin 89-84 in overtime in the opening round of the National Invitation Tournament. 

The Golden Hurricane (27-7), the top seed in the Tulsa region, advances to the second round and will host UNLV March 22 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPNU.

Trailing 70-58 with 6:41 remaining, Tulsa outscored SFA 19-3 to take a 76-73 lead with 10 seconds to play before the Jacks forced overtime. 

In the extra session, Tulsa rallied from a four-point deficit to regain the lead. A three-pointer by Jaylen Lawal gave the Golden Hurricane the lead for good at 86-84 with 46 seconds remaining.  

Lawal came off the bench to score 24 points in 24 minutes to lead five Tulsa players in double figures. Ade Popoola scored 18 points, Miles Barnstable scored 13, and Romad Dean and Tylen Riley each scored 10. Tyler Behrend scored nine points with 12 rebounds.  

In addition to Wichita State’s win earlier Tuesday, it is the seventh consecutive season (not including 2020 covid season) that an American Conference team has won an NIT game.