"You can't say it's bad luck, because we're not making the plays we need to to win the tight ones," Hawai'i head coach Riley Wallace said. "It's just been one of those years."

Hawai'i's record fell to 14-10 overall with its third consecutive loss. The 'Bows sank deeper into seventh place in the Western Athletic Conference at 6-9, which includes a 1-7 WAC record on the road.

With three regular-season games remaining, Hawai'i is two games out of sixth place. If Hawai'i finishes seventh or lower, it will have to participate in the "play-in" games of the WAC Tournament. The top six teams draw byes in the tournament, set for March 8-12.

"We've been talking the big talk and we're running out of time to back it up," Hawai'i guard "Little Matt" Gibson said. "It's rebounds, free throws, same old stuff every time we lose. We're fighting hard, we're just not pulling it out."

A crowd of 6,119 sat through scoreboard and sound system malfunctions, but still went home happy as the Golden Hurricane climbed out of last place.

Tulsa, which improved to 8-17 overall and 4-11 in the WAC, pulled it out by out-scoring the 'Bows 12-3 in the final three minutes of the game.

"I thought our defense was really, really big in the end when we stepped up and started to get stops," Tulsa head coach Alvin Williamson said. "And then we finished them with big rebounds."

Until the closing minutes, the 'Bows matched the Golden Hurricane shot for shot. Hawai'i's starting backcourt — Gibson and Jake Sottos — combined for 44 points, eight assists and six steals.

Sottos scored a game-high 24 points, including five 3-pointers. He had a career-high 25 in a victory over Tulsa in Honolulu last month, meaning his two best games have been against the Golden Hurricane.

Gibson, playing in front of about a dozen friends and family members, added 20 points.

"I wanted to put on a good show for everybody," said Gibson, who was raised in nearby Oklahoma City. "But mostly, I wanted to win the game."

Jeff Blackett added 13 points and seven rebounds, and Julian Sensley may have regained his starting spot with 11 points, eight rebounds and four assists off the bench.

Sensley's 3-pointer with 3:13 remaining gave Hawai'i a short-lived 73-71 lead. Tulsa responded with a 3-pointer by Chris Wallace on its very next possession to regain the lead at 74-73.

"I guess I was just feeling it," Chris Wallace said. "Coach called the play for me and I just came off the screen, and I was really wide open so I took the shot and it fell."

Tulsa never lost the lead after that, and drained 9 of 10 free throws in the final 2:16 to secure the win.

Chris Wallace scored 11, and was one of four Tulsa players to reach double-figure points. Freshman guard Brett McDade led the way with a career-high 22.

The 'Bows failed on three possessions in the final two minutes with a chance to tie or go ahead.

"We can't buy a win right now," Sottos said. "It's frustrating. We can't even talk about it anymore because it's the same thing. We fight, play our guts out, and then for some reason, we can't pull it off in the end."

The 'Bows shot just 32.4 percent from the field in the first half, but trailed only 31-28 at intermission. Tulsa increased the lead to seven in the second half, but Sottos led Hawai'i's charge by scoring 19 points after halftime.

"I missed some open shots in the first half, and that kind of made me mad," he said. "I wanted to come out and prove that I could shoot it."

Hawai'i shot 55.6 percent in the second half, and finished 42.6 percent for the game. The 'Bows also out-rebounded Tulsa, 36-34.

Still, the final score represented Hawai'i's largest margin of defeat this season. The previous nine losses were by a total of 28 points, including three one-point defeats.

"We know we can play with anybody," Riley Wallace said. "This team still believes in themselves. It's just a matter of figuring it out at the end ... or not putting ourselves in that position to begin with."

The 'Bows are scheduled to depart Tulsa today for Houston, where they will play another WAC game at Rice tomorrow.