Oklahoma Sooners Basketball: OU surges past Oregon State, 77-69

The Oklahoma Sooners found themselves in some ‘Pac-12 After Dark’ action on Tuesday night as they bested the Oregon State Beavers, 77-69 in the Phil Knight Invitational. With the win, OU improves to 3-0 on the young college basketball season.

It was a back and forth contest in the first half where there were 11 lead changes. Early on, Oklahoma struggled to find an offensive rhythm, but senior Kristian Doolittle stepped up and led the Sooners with nine points and six rebounds. He went on to finish the game with 19 points, 16 rebounds and four assists.

Redshirt junior Austin Reaves also gave the Sooners a huge boost with his performance. He scored 17 points of his own, including five of Oklahoma’s 11 makes from three. Going forward, as he grows more comfortable in his role on the offensive end of the court, he’ll become a weapon that’ll demand every defense’s attention.

Overall, four Sooners broke into double digits scoring. Along with the aforementioned Doolittle and Reaves, sophomore Jamal Bieniemy and junior Brady Manek pitched in 13 and 10 points, respectively. The options on this team are falling into place, and the balance in production has been a welcomed sight.

After OU took a slim 33-32 lead into the halftime break, the second half was much less of a contest hanging in the balance as Lon Kruger’s team started to distance itself from Oregon State. For multiple stretches, Oklahoma’s defense held the Beavers scoreless for four-plus minutes at a time. On the other end, behind sharp shooting and fast-break opportunities, the Sooners built a commanding lead that grew to as many as 20. Beyond that, the game was never really in serious doubt from then on.

Up next, Oklahoma will return to the friendly confines of the Lloyd Noble Center to host William & Mary of the Colonial Athletic Association. The Sooners and the Tribe will tip-off on Monday, Nov. 18 at 6 p.m. CT, and the game will be broadcast on FSOK.

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