Poor shooting hurts Sooners
Kristian Doolittle took a jump shot with just over 10 minutes left in Oklahoma' s basketball game against Kansas State.
It bounced off the rim. Freshman Jalen Hill grabbed the rebound and passed it to junior Alondes Williams, who took a jump shot. Williams' shot went in and out of the basket, and Kansas State's Makol Mawein rebounded.
Oklahoma didn't get a shot to fall at times in its 61-53 loss to Kansas State on Wednesday night at Bramlage Coliseum. A lack of energy early on and a dominating start by the Wildcats put OU at a di s - advantage, but it was the Sooners' inability to get easy shots to fall that hurt them the most.
Oklahoma ( 1 3- 7, 3- 4 Big 12) shot just 35.3% from the field. The team's first field goal didn't come until 8 1/2 minutes into the game when Kur Kuath dunked a rebound of a missed 3-point shot by De'Vion Harmon.
Doolittle and Brady Manek were indicative of Oklahoma's scoring struggles. The two are the Sooners' leading scorers, and both were averaging more than 15 points per game going into Wednesday night's game.
Doo little and Manek combined for 11 points, with Doolittle going 2-of-11 from the field, and Manek making 1-of-5 shots.
Austin Re aves had 12 points. He gave the Sooners a five-point boost with less than a minute left to keep the game close, but he didn't have the same late game heroics as he did when OU won its earlier meeting with Kansas State this season.
The different line ups Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger put out on the floor did not jump start the Sooners' scoring either. The Sooners were led in scoring by Alondes Williams who gave a careerhigh performance for the second game in a row. He finished with 15 points.
The game stayed close because Kansas State (9-11, 2-5 Big 12) also had a tough night shooting. The Wildcats shot 37.1% from the field. Although they built a 16-point lead in the second half, they didn't sustain it, allowing Oklahoma to creep back and make it a close game in the final minute. Kansas State's Mike McGuirl had a gamehigh 16 points with the help of five made free throws with under 20 seconds to go in the game.
Oklahoma plays Oklahoma State at Lloyd Noble Center on Saturday. The Sooners look to get back on track against a Cowboys team that has yet to win a Big 12 game this season.