Sooners Hold Off Jawun Evans & Oklahoma State Cowboys 74-72 In Stillwater

In the opening twenty minutes of play, Buddy Hield put on a clinic racking up 20 points, five rebounds, and two assists. The effort marked the ninth consecutive time the senior hit the twenty point mark, a feat no Oklahoma Sooner has accomplished since Stacey King wore the crimson and cream. Building a 43-31 lead on the road on 56.3% shooting from range during the half, OU appeared to be cruising to another victory.

However, the Oklahoma State Cowboys came roaring back in the second half hoping to spoil the Sooners win streak and defend home court. Forcing three turnovers during a two minute stretch, the Cowboys settled in to a 6-0 run closing the gap to 49-43 with 13:52 remaining in regulation. But, the defense found a way to quiet Hield holding the star guard scoreless through eight minutes of the second half.

Not letting the drought affect him, Hield sunk a three point attempt breaking the all-time record at the University of Oklahoma with a 260th made shot from beyond the arc. The shot pushed the lead back out to 60-50. From that point on, freshman standout Jawun Evans simply took over for the Cowboys. Scoring 14 of the final 17 points for Oklahoma State, the freshman fell just short 74-72 of claiming a win in a heated rivalry.

Evans, the 33rd ranked recruit coming into the season led all scorers with 42 points while claiming seven rebounds and dishing out six assists. The 42 points are the most by a freshman at OSU and third most all-time at the university. There is something special out this kid assuming he stays on the collegiate level for more than one year. On the other side of the court, Hield finished with 26 points adding seven rebounds and four assists.

Up next, the Sooners duke it out with the West Virginia Mountaineers on Saturday hoping to claim the No. 1 ranking.