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The Oklahoma Sooners suffered their first loss of the season in Big 12 play Saturday night, an 81-68 road defeat at the hands of the Iowa State Cyclones.
Not our night in Ames, but we have a big opportunity to bounce back on Tuesday against No. 3 Kansas.
— Oklahoma Basketball (@OU_MBBall) January 12, 2020
Be the difference, Sooner Nation.
An ugly performance in the first half killed whatever hopes the Sooners had of winning at Hilton Coliseum for the first time since 2011. After OU established an early five-point lead, ISU switched to a zone defense and locked down the visitors. The Sooners trailed 42-25 after the first 20 minutes.
ISU’s lead ballooned to 26 points following a three-point bomb from guard Rasir Bolton with 17:28 remaining. OU managed to cut into the margin as time wound down in the game, but the Cyclones never appeared threatened in the the second half.
The Cyclones bullied the Sooners on the glass. Twelve of their 35 rebounds came on the offensive end, leading to numerous second-chance points. OU snagged just three offensive boards.
Forward Brady Manek paced the Sooners with 17 points, drilling five of his six three-point shots. His frontcourt mate Kristian Doolittle chipped in 14 points of his own. Guard Austin Reaves had night to forget with six turnovers and 12 points on 3-of-7 shooting from the field.
Bolton led ISU with 23 points.
Freshman De’Vion Harmon continued his solid run of recent play and provided one of the few bright spots for the Sooners. The first-year guard was pivotal in helping close out Wednesday night’s win over the Texas Longhorns, and he pumped in 11 points off the bench Saturday.
Coach Lon Kruger’s team will look to get back on the winning track Tuesday night when the No. 3 Kansas Jayhawks come to the Lloyd Noble Center for a matchup on ESPN that will also include the much-anticipated return of Top Daug to the OU sidelines.