TicketsNORMAN, Okla. – Oklahoma, which trailed 18-5 to start and led for only 1:08 in regulation, came up with just the right amount of survival in a 74-71 win over Cincinnati on Tuesday night. It also snapped the Bearcats' three-game OT win streak.
Oklahoma missed two free-throws, and following a Bearcat miss from deep, the Sooners came up empty and UC retained possession with 38 seconds left, down 72-71. Still, two missed jumpers allowed the Sooners to finish on top.
Seventeen of Oklahoma's 19 points in an eight-minute stretch came at the foul line until an and-one conversion with 1:08 left brought it within 66-64.
Oklahoma's corner trey with 17.4 seconds left gave it the lead once again. Aziz Bandaogo was fouled on an ensuing offensive rebound and went 1-of-2 in the final seconds to send it to overtime.
John Newman III's mid-court interception, dunk and 3-point play finish put Cincinnati back ahead 35-28 at 16:19, snapping a five-possession drought and giving UC its largest lead since 5:04 in the first.
Day Day Thomas' steal of a Sooner fastbreak set up Jizzle James for a corner trey, a five-point swing that pushed the lead back to 43-33 at 12:12 and an Oklahoma timeout.
Jamille Reynolds knocked down a pair of free-throws that followed two UC offensive boards to push the lead to 49-43 at 8:27.
Oklahoma tied it again at 53 with 6:12 to play on a short jumper. Jizzle James responded with a left-handed layup, then collected a steal and fastbreak slam that led to an OU timeout as part of what became his personal seven-point streak.
Cincinnati scored the first seven points to force a timeout at 18:21, and it grew to 14-3 at the first media timeout. Simas Lukosius had two 3-pointers and a layup on a perfect start. The Bearcats made eight of their first nine field goals to start, and the Sooners were scoreless on six of their first six possessions.
Oklahoma took its first lead with a minute left in the first half on a contested trey late in the shot clock, but Thomas' pickpocket steal and fastbreak layup gave the Bearcats a 28-27 halftime lead.
Cincinnati committed only three turnovers over the second half and overtime combined. Dan Skillings Jr. had 13 points and nine rebounds after missing Saturday's Kansas State win due to injury. James led UC with 16 points off the bench. Newman had 15 and Lukosius followed with 10.
FROM WES MILLER
"Oklahoma did a nice job fighting back into it tonight. I thought we played good basketball for a majority of the game. We couldn't get stops down the stretch for so many possessions in a row. Our foul discipline was a massive factor in that...we also couldn't get the loose ball and that type of thing. The frustrating part is you have chances to get defensive stops and win the game, but I'm not disappointed in our guys' fight. Fouling out played a factor, but that's college basketball and the Big 12. This one hurt, and there's no doubt about it, but we're gonna have to regroup and finish this regular season off at home on Saturday."
UP NEXT
Cincinnati will host West Virginia for its regular-season finale and Senior Day at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Oklahoma missed two free-throws, and following a Bearcat miss from deep, the Sooners came up empty and UC retained possession with 38 seconds left, down 72-71. Still, two missed jumpers allowed the Sooners to finish on top.
Seventeen of Oklahoma's 19 points in an eight-minute stretch came at the foul line until an and-one conversion with 1:08 left brought it within 66-64.
Oklahoma's corner trey with 17.4 seconds left gave it the lead once again. Aziz Bandaogo was fouled on an ensuing offensive rebound and went 1-of-2 in the final seconds to send it to overtime.
John Newman III's mid-court interception, dunk and 3-point play finish put Cincinnati back ahead 35-28 at 16:19, snapping a five-possession drought and giving UC its largest lead since 5:04 in the first.
Day Day Thomas' steal of a Sooner fastbreak set up Jizzle James for a corner trey, a five-point swing that pushed the lead back to 43-33 at 12:12 and an Oklahoma timeout.
Jamille Reynolds knocked down a pair of free-throws that followed two UC offensive boards to push the lead to 49-43 at 8:27.
Oklahoma tied it again at 53 with 6:12 to play on a short jumper. Jizzle James responded with a left-handed layup, then collected a steal and fastbreak slam that led to an OU timeout as part of what became his personal seven-point streak.
Cincinnati scored the first seven points to force a timeout at 18:21, and it grew to 14-3 at the first media timeout. Simas Lukosius had two 3-pointers and a layup on a perfect start. The Bearcats made eight of their first nine field goals to start, and the Sooners were scoreless on six of their first six possessions.
Oklahoma took its first lead with a minute left in the first half on a contested trey late in the shot clock, but Thomas' pickpocket steal and fastbreak layup gave the Bearcats a 28-27 halftime lead.
Cincinnati committed only three turnovers over the second half and overtime combined. Dan Skillings Jr. had 13 points and nine rebounds after missing Saturday's Kansas State win due to injury. James led UC with 16 points off the bench. Newman had 15 and Lukosius followed with 10.
FROM WES MILLER
"Oklahoma did a nice job fighting back into it tonight. I thought we played good basketball for a majority of the game. We couldn't get stops down the stretch for so many possessions in a row. Our foul discipline was a massive factor in that...we also couldn't get the loose ball and that type of thing. The frustrating part is you have chances to get defensive stops and win the game, but I'm not disappointed in our guys' fight. Fouling out played a factor, but that's college basketball and the Big 12. This one hurt, and there's no doubt about it, but we're gonna have to regroup and finish this regular season off at home on Saturday."
UP NEXT
Cincinnati will host West Virginia for its regular-season finale and Senior Day at 2 p.m. Saturday.