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Oklahoma Basketball Pulls Away From UTRGV, Continues Perfect Start

The Sooners played far from a perfect game, but found a way to win on Friday night.
Ross Lovelace|
Oklahoma Basketball Pulls Away From UTRGV, Continues Perfect Start
Oklahoma Basketball Pulls Away From UTRGV, Continues Perfect Start

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Oklahoma Sooners

Oklahoma advanced to a perfect 4-0 with a 90-66 win over the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in what was the team’s most competitive game yet.

It was a true team effort for the Sooners, finding points from a multitude of players throughout the lineup. Eight different Oklahoma players scored. The bench came alive tonight, pouring in 44 of the team's 90 points.

John Hugley IV led the way for the Sooners, totaling 16 points and seven rebounds. Rivaldo Soares brought energy off the bench, adding 15 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Le’Tre Darthard contributed 13 points and three triples, while Javian McCollum added 11 points and three assists.

The Sooners came into Friday night’s contest 3-0 and running opponents out of the gym. There hasn’t been a team that really even made Porter Moser’s team break a sweat. Oklahoma was able to battle through adversity against UTRGV, and learn how to roll with the punches.

It felt like all game long, the Sooners just couldn’t break free. The lead was never in question, but Oklahoma could never slam the door shut. UTRGV hung around until the end and made this team earn it.

The Vaqueros made the Sooners work for it early on, battling throughout the early portions of the first half. With just under six minutes left until halftime, UTRGV drilled a triple to cut Oklahoma’s lead to seven points.

Moser’s squad bounced back as halftime crept closer, though, figuring out a way hit a few shots from downtown. Thanks to a Le’Tre Darthard 3-pointer, Oklahoma took a 47-33 lead into the break.

UTRGV came out of halftime just as pesky as the came out of the gates. The visiting team looked rejuvenated and determined to hang around in the Lloyd Noble Center. Midway through the second period, the Vaqueros cut Oklahoma’s lead to just eight points and it looked like the game was trending in the wrong direction for the Sooners. After a timeout to regroup, though, Oklahoma found second half footing.

From that point on, Moser’s squad went on a 30-14 run to close out a must-win non-conference game.

Next up, Oklahoma will travel to San Diego, California for the Rady Children’s Invitational opening round against Iowa. The Hawkeyes will certainly be the toughest test yet for this Sooners squad.

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Ross Lovelace
ROSS LOVELACE

Ross has covered the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Oklahoma Sooners since 2018. He's made guest appearances on various radio stations and the Sooners On SI podcast. Ross enjoys public speaking and has done so at multiple churches and high schools across the OKC metro area. In addition to writing, Ross has been the Play-by-Play announcer for Crossings’ basketball and football programs since 2020. In high school, Ross started with Thunder Digest, where he discovered his passion for writing. From there, he worked for the OU Daily as a women's basketball reporter and worked for Sooners On SI and Thunder On SI. Ross holds a bachelor's degree in Public Relations and a minor in Communication from the University of Oklahoma. Born and raised in Oklahoma City, Ross played basketball and wrote for his own Thunder blog at Crossings High School in OKC. He enjoys reading, New York Jets football and a week at the beach. Ross and his wife live in New Orleans, where he is a Marketing and Volunteer Coordinator at the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation and the New Orleans Super Bowl Host Committee. His Twitter handle is @Rosslovelace.

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