OKLAHOMA CAME FROM BEHIND FOR WIN

Oklahoma trailed by 13 points in the first half, but came from behind to defeat No. 24 Vanderbilt, 97-67, on Saturday afternoon at the Lloyd Noble Center. Following a 0-4 start in conference games, Oklahoma (16-5, 3-5 SEC) won its third SEC contest out of the last four.

Vanderbilt led 38-27 late in the first half before Oklahoma finished the half on a 9-2 run to cut the Commodores lead to 40-36 at the intermission.

Oklahoma outscored Vanderbilt 61-27 in the second half, including a 32-4 run which put the Sooners ahead by 17 points, 59-42 with 13:24 left in the game. This was just the fourth time in OU history that the Sooners scored 61 points in a half.

Jeremiah Fears led four Sooners in double figures with 21 points. Jalon Moore added 19 and surpassed the 1,000-career points mark. Dayton Forsythe added 14 points and Duke Miles had 11 to help power Oklahoma’s second half dominance.

Vanderbilt (16-5, 4-4 SEC) was led by Devin McGlockton who scored 22 points, followed by Jason Edwards with 21. They were the only Commodores in double figures.

The Sooners shot 63.2% from the field overall. They outrebounded Vanderbilt 39-24 and held a 21-6 advantage in fast break points. The Commodores committed 15 turnovers, their most in SEC play this season.

The win was OU’s third against an AP Top 25 opponent this season, all those opponents were ranked No. 24 at the time. The Sooners beat then-No. 24 Arizona 82-77 in the Battle 4 Atlantis semifinals on Nov. 28 and then-No. 24 Michigan 87-86 in the Jumpman Invitational on Dec. 18.

The Sooners are home on Saturday to host Tennessee at 11:00 a.m.

OSU GETS HOME WIN OVER UTAH

Oklahoma State’s Bryce Thompson scored 20 points to lead the Cowboys to an 81-72 win over Utah on Saturday at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

Oklahoma State ended a three-game losing streak and improved to 11-10, 3-7 Big 12, while Utah dropped to 12-9, 4-6 Big 12.

Thompson got off to a quick start in the game, and was hot from three-point range, making 4-of-4 three pointers in the game. He attributed his performance in this game to a lot of work in recent practices.

“It started before the game, getting a lot of reps, and getting some good shots off” Thompson said. “It’s a combination of a lot of hard work and going out there and playing confident.”

Marchelus Avery also scored in double-digits for OSU with 17 points and two rebounds, off the bench.

OSU shot 48.9% from the field and 40% (8-for-20) from three-point range.

Ezra Asuar led Utah with 18 points, while Gabe Madsen scored 15, Mike Sharavjamts 11, and Keanu Dawes 10.

Oklahoma State jumped out to a 9-1 lead and never trailed in the game. The Cowboys led 41-33 at halftime.

The Cowboys will host Arizona State on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.

ORU GETS IMPORTANT CONFERENCE WIN

It was Hall of Fame night, and the Oral Roberts men’s basketball team defeated the Kansas City Roos, 73-67, on Saturday evening at the Mabee Center. Three individuals and one team were inducted into the ORU Athletic Hall of Fame.

With the win, ORU snapped a five-game losing streak and improved to 6-16, 2-7 in the Summit League. Kansas City has lost seven in a row, and is now 10-14, 2-7 SL.

The Golden Eagles played very well in the first half, going on a 14-0 run at one point, and held a 17-point lead at halftime, 45-28.

ORU failed to maintain that same pace in the second half, as Kansas City whittled away at the Golden Eagles’ lead. The Roos Jamar Brown and Gob Gob combined for 24 second-half points as KC nearly pulled off a dramatic comeback. The Roos went on a 13-0 run from the 5:25 to the 1:07 mark and held ORU without a field goal for the final 8:35. With 22 seconds remaining ORU’s lead was down to just two points. Kansas City fouled the Golden Eagles to stop the clock, and Issac McBride stepped to the free throw line and knocked down two clutch shots.

ORU was led by McBride with 16 points and four rebounds, Jalen Miller scored 14 points and two rebounds, and Sam Alajiki added 11 points and four rebounds.

Jamar Brown led Kansas City with 17 points and nine rebounds; Gob Gob added 16 points and four rebounds; Cameron Faas had 12 points.

ORU shot 42.0 percent (21-50) from the field, 45.8 percent (11-24) from three-point range, and 71.4 percent (20-28) from the free throw line. ORU had 13 turnovers, while KC had 12. The Golden Eagles were outrebounded 40-29. ORU’s bench produced 26 points, while the Kansas City reserves scored 16 points. ORU led for 37:08 minutes of the game.

The Golden Eagles are home again on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. to play South Dakota.

TULSA LOSES TO TULANE

In a back-and-forth battle, Tulsa fell just short in the end, as Tulane held on for a 59-56 win at the Avron B. Fogelman Arena in Devlin Fieldhouse on Sunday afternoon.

Tulsa dropped to 9-13 on the season and 3-6 in The American Athletic Conference, losing its second game in a row. Tulane improved to 12-10 and 6-3 in the AAC.

The game was close throughout, with Tulsa’s biggest lead, a seven-point advantage, coming in the first half. Tulane’s largest lead was by six points with only three minutes to play.

Tulsa was led by Dwon Odom with 13 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals. Isaiah Barnes added 12 points and five boards, and Jared Garcia scored 11 with four rebounds.

For Tulane, Rowan Brumbaugh led all scorers with 23 points, including five 3-pointers.  Asher Woods added 10 as the only other Tulane player to score in double figures.

Both teams scored 24 points in the paint and Tulsa held slight advantages in points off turnovers (12-10) and fast break points (11-5). Tulsa shot 37.9 percent from the field and was 28.0 percent on 3-pointers, knocking down 7-of-25. Tulane shot 39.6 percent and made seven 3-pointers, but on 22 shots at a 31.8 percent rate.

The Golden Hurricane will host Florida Atlantic on Saturday morning at 11:00 a.m. at the Reynolds Center. The game will be broadcast on ESPN-U.