Oklahoma (18-6, 6-5 Big 12) defeated Oklahoma State (10-14, 2-9) 66-62 at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman on Saturday.
In OU’s four-point win over its in-state rival, junior guard Jalon Moore led the way with 15 points, eight rebounds and four blocks. Redshirt senior guard Le’Tre Darthard went 3 of 4 from the 3-point line and had nine points.
Here are three takeaways from the Sooners’ win:
Foul Trouble
The Sooners started fouling early and didn’t stop.
Oklahoma tallied eight first-half fouls, three of which were called on sophomore guard Otega Oweh. Senior forward Sam Godwin had two, and Moore was called for a technical foul after a slam dunk celebration.
“It was just emotion,” Moore said after OU’s win. “I play with passion, and I got a big dunk, and I said some things that got me a tech, but I didn’t let that affect the rest of the game.”
Oklahoma State went to the free throw line 11 times in the first half and only missed one.
Additionally, a flurry of technical fouls at the start of the second half upset the Sooners’ rhythm.
Oweh went first and earned his fourth foul of the game just three minutes in. Godwin followed, and back-to-back fouls sent him to the bench for the rest of the night.
“I kind of had to huddle them up after Sam (Godwin) got one from the bench waving his towel,” head coach Porter Moser said postgame. “I just said we gotta overcome adversity, stop thinking about all that’s happening.”
After the timeout, OU responded and played through the fouls and mistakes.
The Sooners finished the night with 18 fouls, 10 of which were committed in the second half, and sent OSU to the free throw line 28 times, where it finished the game 21 of 28. OU went to the free throw line 24 times and finished the night 15 of 24 from the line.
“I felt like mentally we were able to stay together,” Moore said. “We were able to fight through those techs.”
Sooners’ bench second-half surge
With Oweh and Godwin in foul trouble, OU’s bench had to step up in the second half.
The Sooners’ bench players that they have turned to all season — redshirt senior guard Rivaldo Soares, Darthard and redshirt junior John Hugley IV — had an effective outing and scored 13 in the first half shooting 4 of 9 from the floor.
“I thought Le’Tre made some really good plays,” Moser said. “I thought Tre and Waldo (Soares) continue to make key plays.”
In the second half, the trio, with the addition of redshirt freshman forward Luke Northweather, kept OU composed and in the game.
Darthard defended well and tracked down long rebounds that would’ve given the Cowboys an extra possession. Soares played through contact and had two crucial layups in the middle of the second half, and Hugley and Northweather both gave OU a presence inside.
“The guys were so happy for Luke Northweather,” Moser said. “It’s very hard to not play and all of a sudden get in this atmosphere, so in 10 minutes he had five points, three assists and he drew three fouls.”
Oklahoma’s bench scored 29 points and outscored OSU’s by 15 points.
Javian McCollum, Oweh, Godwin struggle
The Sooners’ starters, besides Moore and sophomore guard Milos Uzan, struggled.
After starting slow and having to play through stoppage early in the game, junior guard Javian McCollum, Oweh and Godwin could not find their footing.
The three scored just 13 points and shot 3 of 12 from the floor and committed six of the Sooners’ 12 turnovers.
Uzan and Moore helped pick up the slack offensively and scored 23 points on a combined 9 of 14 shooting effort. Moore grabbed a team-high eight rebounds during the outing and had four blocks, and Uzan led both on and off the floor during the matchup.
“Here is the thing with Milos, his voice coming out of the huddles was elite,” Moser said. “Coming out of the huddles, you heard his voice every single time.”
Oklahoma held OSU to 30% from the floor during the matchup, and the Cowboys finished the night shooting 3 of 18 from beyond the arc. OU shot 45% and 9 of 23 from the 3-point line.
“It wasn’t the prettiest thing,” Moser said. “There were so many ebbs and flows, but the crowd just stayed high energy.”
The Sooners will look to extend their two-game winning streak against No. 13 Baylor (17-6, 6-4 Big 12) at 8 p.m. on Tuesday at McLane Stadium in Waco on ESPN2.
