Bench play a lone bright spot for Sooners in loss at K-State

Not everything that came out of Oklahoma's 61-53 loss at Kansas State on Wednesday night was negative.

The Sooners got off to slow starts in both halves and the starters struggled to score, but the bench players found some life for OU (13-7, 3-4 Big 12).

The four players that came off the bench for Oklahoma outscored its starters. Junior guard Alondes Williams, redshirt junior forward Kur Kuath and freshmen forwards Jalen Hill and Victor Iwuakor combined for 30 points. Williams scored a team-high 15 points.

“Alondes was very explosive and made it look easy at times… we need that to continue and now we need some other guys to step up and give him some help,” OU coach Lon Kruger said in a postgame radio interview.

In a game that was largely filled with negatives for the Sooners, the production for the bench was a bright spot. Oklahoma's bench had been a reliable source for a scoring boost earlier in the season and are starting to show that ability again.

This comes as Oklahoma's starters have been struggling. Junior forward Brady Manek and senior forward Kristian Doolittle combined for just 11 points, while freshman guard De'Vion Harmon and sophomore guard Jamal Bieniemy were scoreless. Redshirt junior Austin Reaves had 12 points after a scoring flurry in the final minute of the game.

While more scoring from the bench is helpful, OU needs its starters to be more active, starting Saturday when the Sooners host Oklahoma State (2 p.m., ABC).

“It was great to see Alondes come in,” Kruger said. “I thought Kur again played his minutes great. I thought Victor did fine. Great to see that. We've got to keep working and get those other guys going like they know.”