Oklahoma Overcomes Slow Start to Beat Houston Baptist
NORMAN — America’s annual tryptophan induced Thanksgiving hangover arrived a night early in the Lloyd Noble Center.
Fresh off their first defeat of the season, the Oklahoma Sooners (5-1) sleepwalked through their contest against the Houston Baptist Huskies (1-4) on Wednesday night, prevailing in an ugly 57-40 win.
The offensive indecisiveness which cost them the Myrtle Beach Invitational final against Utah State on Sunday spilled over into the first half, as the offense looked sluggish and disjoint.
Houston Baptist jumped out to a 5-0 lead and hung tough with the Sooners all the way until halftime, holding the Sooners to a dreadful 31 percent shooting in the first half and filling the Lloyd Noble Center with more groans than cheers over the opening 20 minutes.
“We obviously had a hangover for the tournament,” Oklahoma head coach Porter Moser said after the game. “And the issue was we let our offense dictate our defense again when we’re missing shots.
“Anybody who watched the way we guarded the first 15 minutes of the second half was different than how we guarded in the first half because we were 1-for-12 from three. I talked to the guys about that. We missed some shots, ran back and thinking about our missed shots. You can’t. We gave them life.”
Trailing 27-22 at the break, Moser said he did get into his team a bit at halftime, urging them to come out with a different intensity in the second half.
“I think he just challenged us to come out in the second half, be a whole different team,” Sooner forward Elijah Harkless said after the game. “Put that behind us and see if we could bounce back.”
Moser’s halftime message clearly hit home, however, as the Sooners started the second half on an 18-0 run, holding the Huskies scoreless for the first seven minutes of the half.
Oklahoma forced nine second half turnovers, allowing them to get out in transition and bank some easy points, something they struggled with in the first half.
“We had to create some offense with our defense,” Moser said. “And if you're not shooting it well, like 1-for-12 the way we started it, we've got to get some stops so you can run.
“So that's definitely what we want to do, it's part of what we want to do. We want to create some offense with our defense, so tonight it it helped us win the game.”
Offensively, senior Elijah Harkless led the way with a season-high 13 points for the Sooners, also pulling down nine boards and dishing out two assists.
Joining him in spearheading the OU attack was Jordan Goldwire, who also added 11 points, three rebounds and three assists to the cause.
Goldwire said Harkless set the tone for the second half defensively, and that Harkless has quickly become someone he enjoys playing alongside.
“ His energy was contagious,” Goldwire said. “We switch everything one through four and he was getting after whoever he was guarding and made it tough for them. He was able to get to the foul line.
“He’s a leader on the team. He has a voice. He comes every day and puts work in. That’s a guy I respect a lot and I’m happy to have him on my team.”
Moser said the team is still searching for guys to step up and take the reins offensively, and the Sooners will need veterans like Goldwire and Harkless to continue to score alongside Tanner Groves once OU gets into Big 12 play.
In conjunction with their senior leaders, the Sooners also got big second half contributions from true freshman C.J. Noland and transfer Jacob Groves.
Jacob Groves splashed home eight points, while Noland was just behind him with seven points, one bucket short of tying his career-high.
Oklahoma’s reserves kept up the defensive intensity down the stretch, clamping down on the Huskies to ensure OU would only allow 13 second half points total, turning the game into a late-stage blowout, but the Sooners did finish with a season-low 11 assists as a team.
OU will hope to build on their second half performance in their next outing as they’ll again be headed out to the East Coast. The Sooners will travel to play Central Florida on Saturday afternoon, with tip-off slated for 1 p.m.
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