OU LOSES CLOSE ONE AT OLE MISS

Oklahoma’s Dayton Forsythe scored 23 of his career-high 25 points in the second half but it wasn’t enough as Mississippi beat the Sooners, 87-84, in Oxford, Miss. on Saturday.

Forsythe made four 3-pointers and all seven of his free throw attempts for the Sooners who have lost seven of their last eight games. His previous career high was 14 points.

Ole Miss improved to 20-9, 9-7 SEC, while the Sooners are struggling in their first season in the SEC, 17-12, 4-12 SEC. It’s the second consecutive season that the Rebels have reached 20 wins.

With just 3.9 seconds remaining in the game, Jeremiah Fears was called for a flagrant-one foul on the inbounds play to the Running Rebels’ Matthew Murrell. Murrell made both free throws to put his team ahead for the final score, 87-84.

Sean Pedulla led Ole Miss by scoring 16 points in the first half and finishing with 26 points. He made five three-pointers in the game, including a go-ahead three with 18.3 seconds left.

Jaemyn Brakefield scored 16 points, Dre Davis 13 and Murrell and Malik Dia 10 each for Ole Miss, which snapped a three-game losing streak.

Scoring in double digits for the Sooners were Duke Miles with 15 points, Fears had 13 and Sam Godwin 12. OU’s leading scorer on the year, Jalon Moore, had just two points.

As a team, Ole Miss shot over 50.9 percent from the field, and the Sooners shot 52.9 percent. OU shot a whopping 90.9 percent from the free throw line while Ole Miss shot 74.2 percent from the line.

“The defense was kind of non-existent,” said Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard. “Both teams shooting 50 (percent), both teams hit threes. We had a little bit of an advantage going to the free throw line, but they shot a better percentage.”

Ole Miss led by as many as 11 in the first half but was only up by one at halftime, 39-38.

The game was close throughout the second half, as neither team ever led by more than nine points. The Sooners went on a 9-0 run to take a one-point lead with just under three minutes remaining.

Oklahoma was scheduled to play its home finale against No. 14 Missouri at Lloyd Noble Center on Wednesday evening, before finishing the season at Texas this Saturday at 7:00 p.m.

OSU SHOOTS POORLY AT BAYLOR

It was a poor shooting performance by both teams, but in the end, Baylor pulled away from Oklahoma State in the second half to beat the Cowboys, 71-61, in Waco, Tex. On Saturday.

In the first half, Baylor missed seven free throws (8-of-15) and shot 23.5% overall, including 2-of-17 from outside the arc, and still lead by two at halftime, 26-24.

“That means your defense is pretty good,” Baylor head coach Scott Drew said after the game. The Bears (17-12, 9-9 Big 12) snapped a three-game losing streak.

Oklahoma State (14-15, 6-12 Big 12) didn’t shoot much better in the first half. The Cowboys were 4-of-8 from the free throw line, made 2-of-7 three-pointers, and was 33.3% overall from the field.

The Bears were led by Jeremy Roach who went 4-for-7 from 3-point range and scored a season-high 21 points. Robert O. Wright III had 12 of his 16 points in the first half, while Jayden Nunn added 11.

Baylor’s Norchad Omier had 10 points and 13 rebounds for his 17th double-double of the season and 85th career double-double, the fifth-most in NCAA history.

“We were getting good looks,” Drew said. “I would have been a lot more concerned if we didn’t have any good looks. But we’ve been a second-half team most of the year, and to have the lead and shoot that poor, I didn’t think we would shoot that poor again. Credit Oklahoma State’s defense for causing turnovers. But if you don’t turn it over, usually you can get some pretty good looks.”

Baylor used a 12-0 run with 14:12 remaining to take a 41-29 lead. OSU pulled to within four, at 63-59, with 1:26 remaining.

The Cowboys had only one player that scored in double digits; Bryce Thompson with 19 points. Arturo Dean scored all nine of his points in the first half to reach 1,000 career points.

Baylor has won five straight and 16 of the last 19 in the series.

Oklahoma State will wrap up the regular season at home on Saturday against Cincinnati at 2:00 p.m.

TULSA LOSES AT THE LAST SECOND

A last second layup by Gregg Glenn III gave Tulane a 79-77 win over the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, Saturday at the Reynolds Center.

Tulsa was in this game until the end, including a three-pointer by Isaiah Barnes to tie the game at 77-77 with 12 seconds remaining.

Tulsa falls to 11-18 overall and 5-11 in The American. Tulane is now 17-12, 11-5 AAC.

Barnes finished with 20 points to pace the Hurricane in scoring, shooting 8-of-14 (57.1 percent) from the field. Keaston Willis finished with 13 including four 3-pointers. Dwon Odom added 12 points and eight assists, while Braeden Carrington rounded out the double figure scorers with 11.

For Tulane, Glenn III was the team’s highest scorer with 22 points, despite foul trouble limiting him to 21 minutes. He finished 8-of-10 at the free throw line. Rowan Brumbaugh added 11 to go with seven assists.

Tulsa shot slightly better than Tulane at 50 percent from the field, compared to Tulane’s 48.3 percent. The Hurricane knocked down 11 three-pointers at a 44 percent rate, while Tulane connected on 5-of-16 (31.3 percent).

Tulsa will close out the regular season at Wichita State on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.

ORU LOSES SEASON FINALE AT OMAHA

Omaha proved why they were the best team in the Summit League this season, as the home team defeated Oral Roberts 80-57 Saturday afternoon at Baxter Arena.

ORU started the game well and was able to keep pace with Omaha in a fast-moving first half. Jalen Miller provided a spark with two three-pointers, and Darius Robinson Jr. added key perimeter shooting to help the Golden Eagles stay within striking distance. Omaha led 41-38 at halftime.

The second half was a different story, as ORU’s offense went cold, shooting just 21.4% from the field and 17.6% from three-point range.

At one point in the second half, Omaha went on a 21-0 run that blew the game wide open and put the Mavericks ahead, 75-47 with 3:29 remaining in the game.

Oral Roberts (7-22 overall, 3-13 Summit League) was led by Jalen Miller with 13 points, Darius Robinson Jr. added 11 points and three rebounds.

Omaha (19-12, 13-3 SL) was led by Tony Osburn with 22 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists; Marquel Sutton had 20 points and 9 rebounds.

ORU shot 35.7 percent (20-56) from the field, 29.0 percent (9-31) from three, and 72.7 percent (8-11) from the free throw line. ORU had 11 turnovers and forced six by the Mavericks. UNO dominated the boards and outrebounded ORU 45-32 and won the points in the paint battle 26-18.

It was the final game of the regular season for the Golden Eagles who now head to the Summit League Tournament in Sioux Falls, S.D. The Golden Eagles are the ninth seed in the SL Tournament and were scheduled to face No. 8 Kansas City on Wednesday night. If ORU won, they would advance to play No. 1 Omaha, Thursday evening at 6:00 p.m.