Field Level Media
Nov 22, 2018
D'Mitrik Trice scored a career-high 25 points Thursday, hitting 7 of 8 3-point attempts, as No. 25 Wisconsin pulled away in the second half to reach the championship game of the Battle 4 Atlantis with a 78-58 win over Oklahoma in the Bahamas.
Kobe King added 14 for the Badgers (5-0), which will play No. 4 Virginia on Friday night in the championship game. The Sooners (4-1) will oppose Dayton on Friday in the third-place game.
Wisconsin center Ethan Happ stuffed the stat sheet with 14 points, 12 rebounds and five assists, and Nate Reuvers chipped in 12 points.
Christian James tallied 18 points to lead the Sooners, and Aaron Calixte hit for 10, but they couldn't cope with Wisconsin's consistency or hot shooting. The Badgers committed only eight turnovers and canned 14 of 22 3-pointers, including a blistering 7 of 8 after halftime.
King hit a layup with 15:21 left to cap a 12-3 run that gave Wisconsin a 45-34 lead. After James dunked with 13:29 left to pull Oklahoma within 50-41, the Badgers closed out the game's competitive phase by ripping off 10 straight points.
Trice drilled a 3-pointer, Happ converted a layup and King sank a 3-ball, followed by Khalil Iverson's two free throws that made it 60-41 with 9:24 left.
Wisconsin made the game's first significant run, using the 3-point line to do it. King stepped behind the line to hit a pair of bombs and Reuvers canned another one during a 9-2 spurt that gave the Badgers a 15-9 lead at the 13:19 mark of the first half.
Oklahoma rallied with an 11-2 run that took just over five minutes, ending it with consecutive jumpers by Calixte that gave it a 20-17 edge with 7:52 left in the half. After James' 3-ball gave the Sooners a 25-22 advantage, though, their offense ground to a halt.
They managed just three points over the last five-plus minutes of the half, enabling Wisconsin to take the lead into the locker room. A Happ layup and a Reuvers foul shot in the last minute made it 31-28 at halftime.
--Field Level Media