The River Remains Orange as Oklahoma Loses to Texas in Overtime

Coming off a close loss in Lawrence, Oklahoma returned to Norman fired up to compete against their rivals.

In this competitive battle it only made sense that the game would be decided in overtime.

Even though the first half was not pretty for the Sooners offensively, their strong defense kept them in the game.

It was very evident that Oklahoma’s strategy was to obtain every rebound possible to limit the Longhorns second chance opportunities. 

There was always a white jersey right underneath the basket ready to grab whatever came their way.

Elijah Harkless was leading the defensive charge for Oklahoma, remaining scrappy to snatch three steals in the first half.

Harkless led the Sooners with 19 points and five steals.

Despite the Sooners only shooting 31 percent from the floor and 17 percent from the perimeter in the first half , they made the majority of their shots from the charity stripe.

Jalen Hill was aggressive in his attempts to get to the rim which award him four trips to the free throw line. He finished seven-of-eight to give him nine points going into halftime. Hill ended the game with 16 points.

“I thought we went to him a lot and he produced. He did a good job with it,” Porter Moser said.

The Sooners were down 31-29 heading into the second half.

Coming out of halftime just as aggressive as he was in the first, Hill hit a spin move and pulled up to make a nice floater although missed the and one opportunity. 

Shortly after Gibson was called for an offensive foul which gave him his third foul. His foul trouble habit reared its ugly head for the Sooners and Moser sent him to the bench with 17 minutes left.

Oklahoma’s defense came in clutch once again to take every rebound away from Texas. This landed the Longhorns in a near three minute long scoring drought. 

Yet the Sooners only capitalized with four points during this time and gained a one point lead 36-35.

Then, Oklahoma forces what could have been pivotal turnover but was unable to take advantage of the opportunity. 

Meanwhile Texas made a second chance layup in the very next play which sparked a 7-0 run in just over a minute. 

The Longhorns finished on an 11-0 run which awarded them a two possession lead.

Finally back off the bench, Gibson saves the Sooners by making a timely triple to end their scoring drought. Gibson went four-of-six from behind the arc to end the game with 17 points.

“I mean Jalen, Mo gave everything they had to this game,” Moser said.

This brought the stream of consciousness back to Oklahoma and just like that their offensive switch was turned on.

Chipping the lead back slowly the Sooners were poised in their attack. Harkless grabbing a steal and finding Jordan Goldwire in transition for him to finish the and one bringing Lloyd Noble center into a frenzy.

The Sooners had crushed the Longhorns lead to one point making the score 56-55.

Both the Sooners and the Longhorns made key shots down the stretch. Yet it was Goldwire who provided some spice in the clutch. Catching the Longhorns ankles with a deliberate hesitation, Goldwire flew to the basket and tied the game for Oklahoma.

Goldwire finished the night with 18 points.

Oklahoma had 19 seconds to make something happen and Ethan Chargois got a wide open look from the perimeter but was unable to make the shot in the clutch. 

This forced the game into overtime.

“Both teams were playing really hard,” Moser said,”both teams were just trying to be really aggressive.”

Both teams came in hot for overtime. Going shot for shot Texas and Oklahoma seemingly remained poised down the stretch.

Moser said,”I thought people were making some tough shots. It was a high level game.”

Until Gibson had a messy turnover which that Texas converted to give them a 73-72 lead. 

But Oklahoma stayed in it and kept the game tight.

Yet Texas player Timmy Allen was on a mission, he snatched a steal and played it smart by running down the clock. Making a second chance layup and barely beating the shot clock, Allen gave the Longhorns a three point cushion with just 9.7 seconds left.

Moser said,“Timmy Allen and Bishop had six (of their offensive rebounds) and they were key ones. That tip in was a monster play. You know you got to get a stop. You got to rebound it and we didn’t do it.”

Moser drew up an interesting play during the timeout. Oklahoma was looking for a cross court pass, but with Texas being so lengthy the pass did not meet the intended player. 

Oklahoma had done a good job limiting the Longhorns second chance opportunities until overtime. Texas finished with 13 second chance points and the put back from Allen is was truly killed Oklahoma late.

Unable to bring the Sooner magic, Texas became 2-0 against Oklahoma this season winning 80-78.

“I’m miserable right now,” Moser said. “(But) are we better than we were a month ago? Hell yeah.”

The Sooners will head to Ames face a team whose been on a bit of a slide themselves, Iowa State. The Cyclones are on a four game losing streak, so both teams will be searching for a win this Saturday.