Sooners ‘have to find a way to finish’
LAWRENCE, Kan. — Lon Kruger called a timeout with 31 seconds left and his Oklahoma squad trailing Kansas 67-63. At Allen Fieldhouse, a place the Sooners haven’t won since 1993, the chance for a comeback was slim, but there was fleeting belief.
Yet size, talent and history was still on the Jayhawks’ side. No. 5 Kansas held off a gritty performance from No. 23 Oklahoma to claim a 70-63 victory in the Big 12 opener.
If Wednesday night was prove-it time for OU following its 11-1 start to the season, the Sooners proved they belong in a Big 12 tier just below the Jayhawks.
Oklahoma began the game on a 7-0 run. It began the second half on a 8-0 run.
Most everything in between was a struggle.
“Every time it seemed we tried to make a push in the second half, whether it is (Dedric) Lawson stepping up or someone making a big shot, they did a good job of fighting it off,” Kruger said.
Lawson, a 6-foot-9 junior transfer from Memphis, tallied 13 points and 15 rebounds.
The Jayhawks held a size advantage over the Sooners at every position. Kansas, with 7-foot center Udoka Azubuike as its anchor inside, outscored Oklahoma 40-32 in the paint. The Jayhawks also won the turnover battle and beat the Sooners 22-14 in transition.
“Guarding Azubuike and Lawson for an entire game is not easy,” an exhausted Kristian Doolittle said after the game.
But almost every time Allen Fieldhouse began to erupt — and it erupted often — Oklahoma answered with a comeback.
The Sooners withstood a 15-0 run midway through the first half, cutting Kansas’ lead down to three, only for the Jayhawks to respond with a 10-2 run just before halftime.
The Sooners trailed by 15 at halftime, but the deficit dwindled to four with less than a minute to go when Kruger called timeout.
Much of the second-half work was done inside.
“At times we did a good job of getting in there and being aggressive and pump faking,” Kruger said. “Other times, we shot it into their hands. You have to learn from that and compete for the result a little bit more. We’re getting there. But then we have to find a way to finish. Games like this, we’ll learn from.”
Lagerald Vick and freshmen guards Devon Dotson and Quentin Grimes led Kansas, combining for 43 points. The Jayhawks shot 41 percent from the field despite a 4 of 21 clip from behind the arc.
The Sooners made just 5 of 22 (23 percent) three-pointers. Kruger’s squad was forced to play a perimeter-oriented game due to Kansas’ size. Oklahoma center Jamuni McNeace (sprained ankle) played just two minutes Wednesday, leaving the dirty work to forwards Brady Manek and Doolittle.
OU senior guard Christian James, who came in averaging 18 points per game, was held to 11 points on 4 of 15 shooting. He was serenaded with “air ball” chants from the Kansas faithful after consecutive second-half shots failed to glance the rim.
Manek led OU with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
“We have to understand that there’s 18 tough battles in conference play,” Kruger said. “This was a tough one and we couldn’t get over the hump.”