Field Level Media
Jan 26, 2021
Austin Reaves scored 23 points, including a pair of crucial free throws late, as No. 24 Oklahoma outlasted short-handed and foul-prone No. 5 Texas 80-79 in a key Big 12 Conference dustup Tuesday in Austin, Texas.
The Sooners, who have won four straight, led by nine at halftime and by a dozen early in the second half before Texas pulled within 78-77 on a Matt Coleman III layup with 37 seconds to play.
Reaves then canned a pair of free throws with 18.3 seconds left before Andrew Jones countered with two free throws for the Longhorns, but Texas could get no closer.
Texas was playing for the first time since Jan. 16 because of COVID-19 issues involving its two most recent scheduled opponents, Iowa State and TCU.
The Longhorns were without two starters, Courtney Ramey and Jericho Sims, and key reserve Brock Cunningham (who missed his second straight game) as well as coach Shaka Smart, all due to the coronavirus.
De'Vion Harmon added 13 points for the Sooners (10-4, 6-3 Big 12) while Umoja Gibson had 12 and Elijah Harkless scored 11. Tuesday's game was the second of an eight-game stretch in which Oklahoma plays seven teams ranked in the top 15 of the latest AP Top 25, capped by a Texas rematch on Feb. 16.
Kai Jones paced Texas (11-3, 5-2) with 15 points while Greg Brown scored 14, Andrew Jones and Coleman tallied 13 points each. Donovan Williams added a season-high 11 for the Longhorns, who had three players foul out.
Oklahoma built a six-point lead on two occasions in the first half before three free throws by Reaves with 1.8 seconds remaining granted the Sooners a 43-34 advantage at halftime.
Reaves paced all scorers with 12 points in the half, and Coleman had 11 to lead the Longhorns.
Texas was shackled with foul trouble early in the second half, with two starters and one bench player amassing four fouls before the 16-minute mark, and the Sooners took advantage to take a 12-point lead.
Oklahoma was in the double bonus with 12:41 remaining in the game.
--Field Level Media