Rachal helps Tulsa get past unbeaten Houston

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TULSA 65, NO. 5 HOUSTON 64

TULSA — Brandon Rachal hit two free throws with a tenth of a second remaining and finished with 22 points as Tulsa topped unbeaten No. 5 Houston 65-64.

After Caleb Mills made a 7-foot floater with six seconds left to give Houston its first lead in the final 13 minutes of the game, Rachal took a pass, drove the length of the court and was fouled by center Brison Gresham at the rim a fraction of a second before time expired. Rachal went to the line and made both free throws.

The victory was Tulsa’s first over a top-5 team since winning at UCLA in 1996.

The victory lifted Tulsa to 2-1 in the American Athletic Conference and 5-3 overall. Houston (7-1, 2-1) had won its first seven games handily, the closest being a nine-point victory over Central Florida.

Ahead by one at halftime, Tulsa built a six-point advantage several times in the second half. But the Cougars never lost touch, tying the game at 62-62 on an offensive rebound by Marcus Sasser.

Rey Idowu made one of two free throws to give Tulsa a 63-62 lead before Mills put the Cougars ahead.

Quentin Grimes led the Cougars with 19 points and seven rebounds. Sasser finished with 14 points and Mills 11 for Houston.

In other men’s Top 25 games Tuesday, Corey Kispert scored 25 points, Joel Ayayi added 21 points and 11 rebounds, and top-ranked Gonzaga (9-0) beat short-handed Dixie State 112-67. Cameron Gooden scored 20 points, Jacob Nicholds had 11 and Jacob Greene 10 for Dixie State (4-2). … Derek Culver scored 18 points and No. 9 West Virginia (8-2) capitalized on its size advantage to beat Northeastern 75-51. Tyson Walker scored 10 points for Northeastern (1-5). … Jordan Bohannon scored 24 points, CJ Fredrick added 19 and Luka Garza finished with 18 as No. 10 Iowa (8-2, 2-1 Big Ten) beat Northwestern (6-2, 3-1) 87-72. … Kevin McCullar scored 11 points in his season debut coming off an ankle injury and No. 13 Texas Tech (8-2) cruised to a 79-51 victory over Incarnate Word (1-4). … Montez Mathis had a career-high 25 points, including 16 in the second half, and No. 14 Rutgers (7-1, 3-1 Big Ten) beat Purdue (7-4, 2-2 Big Ten) 81-76. … Clyde Trapp scored 15 points and Nick Honor had all his 13 points in the second half, including the go-ahead three-pointer, as Clemson (7-1, 1-1 ACC) rallied past No. 18 Florida State 77-67. Scottie Barnes led Florida State (5-2, 1-1) with 14 points. … Keve Aluma scored a career-high 26 points and No. 24 Virginia Tech (8-1, 2-0 ACC) made crucial free throws in the final minute on the way to an 80-78 victory over Miami (4-3, 0-2).