College Basketball

Oklahoma Basketball: Sooners Gashed by Horns in Hoops at Texas

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 9:43 p.m. ET

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Fansided, Chip Rouse/FanSided via Stormin in Norman

In a game featuring the two youngest teams in the Big 12, the Texas youngsters played just a little better than the Oklahoma basketball newcomers as the Longhorns outlasted the Sooners 84-83 to take round one in this season’s basketball edition of the Red River Showdown.

Jan 4, 2017; Austin, TX, USA; Texas Longhorns forward Jarrett Allen (31) dunks against the Oklahoma State Cowboys during the first half at the Frank Erwin Center. Mandatory Credit: Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports

Two huge three-point shots by Texas with under 20 seconds to go, the second of which went down with just 01.5 seconds remaining in the game, erased a five-point Oklahoma advantage and seized victory from the jaws of defeat for the Longhorns.

Oklahoma trailed by two points at halftime, 41-39, and at one point in the second half was looking at an 11-point deficit. The Sooners tied the contest at 73 with 3:01 to go in the game, and again at 76 apiece on a three-point rainbow by Jordan Woodard with 2:19 on the game clock.

A steal and breakaway slam dunk by Rashard Odomes gave the Sooners their first lead in the second half, 80-78, with 58 seconds left, and they stretched the advantage to five points, at 83-78 wit under 30 seconds to go.

Texas’ Eric Davis Jr. hit his fifth three-point shot of the night to bring the Horns within two points with the clock showing 11 seconds remaining. The Longhorns quickly fouled Kameron McGusty on the OU inbound pass following Davis’ three-pointer. McGusty had sunk two free throws just moments before to put the Sooners up by five, but missed both ends of a two-shot trip to the charity stripe.

Jan 18, 2017; Morgantown, WV, USA; Oklahoma Sooners guard Kameron McGusty (20) grabs a rebound during the second half against the West Virginia Mountaineers at WVU Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports

McGusty’s missed free throws opened the door for the Longhorns, who instead of driving to the basket to tie the game opted for a long three-point attempt by freshman guard Andrew Jones. The shot hit nothing but net as it swished through the basket, changing what just seconds earlier appeared to be a dramatic come from behind Oklahoma win into a thrilling Texas victory over its hated rival from the bordering state to the north.

The Sooners ended up wasting a career-high 29-point performance from freshman Kristian Doolittle, who had 14 points in the first 20 minutes and added 15 more in the second half. Fellow freshman teammate McGusty contributed 21, giving the two Sooner first-year players 50 of Oklahoma’s total 83 points in the game.

Texas was led in scoring by senior big man Shaquille Cleare, who dropped in 23 for the game, most of which came from close range. Davis and Jones had eight three-pointers between them and combined for another 34 points (Davis with 18 and Jones 16).

The Longhorns two prized freshman, Jarrett Allen and Jones, accounted for a combined 26 points in the Texas victory.

Senior Jordan Woodard, the OU scoring leader for the season, went scoreless in the opening half and ended with just eight points. His only field goal of the game was a three-pointer that tied the game at 78. The Sooners could have use one of his patented second-half explosions. In his past three games, Woodard had scored 19, 18 and 21 points, respectively, in the second half alone.

The Oklahoma loss, coupled with wins on Monday by Texas and Oklahoma State, left all three teams tied for last place in the Big 12 standings with identical 2-6 league records. The Sooners dropped to 8-11 overall. Texas is now 8-12 on the season.

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