Sooners find rhythm late, move to 4-0
It just wasn’t quite working for the Sooners for the better part of Friday’s game, but OU kept pushing along. Eventually, Oklahoma found its groove and a victory.
The Sooners closed the game in style to earn a 90-66 victory against visiting Texas-Rio Grande Valley to wrap up the first two weeks of the season.
OU (4-0) is in San Diego next week, starting with Iowa at 2 p.m. on Thanksgiving.
The score lets you think OU simply dominated, but it wasn’t the case. The Sooners led 60-52 before a Rivaldo Soares dunk sort of put everything else into motion. UTRGV had two possessions to the cut the lead to six or five. Instead, a missed shot led to the Soares dunk. The Sooners took over from that point.
OU closed on a 30-14 run and let its defense carry the day. OU scored 24 points off turnovers, with a lot of that occurring down the stretch.
Head coach Porter Moser said he’d much rather learn a lot from a win than learn a lot and lose. A lot of teachable moments. This was one of those games where you feel good about what you did well but know there is still so much that can be better.
And it will need to be if OU plans to have success in San Diego.
Game 4 Takeaways
*The eight-man starting rotation was back at it. Because it was guys like Le’Tre Darthard and Rivaldo Soares coming off the bench to assert their will.
Soares had 15 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals. It has been a team-first mentality that has helped OU to its nice start.
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“We’re all brothers out there, cheering for each other,” Soares said.
Darthard had 13 points.
*Backup big man John Hugley continues to get his size in the game. He’s big, and now he’s playing big. Another solid effort with 16 points and eight rebounds.
Hugley, for the third game in a row, also knocked down a 3-pointer.
*Clunky first half for OU. The Sooners had 10 turnovers in the first half. But what impressed Moser was their ability to not let ineffective offense ruin everything else.
OU dominated the glass, outrebounding UTRGV 46-28 and 16-6 edge with offensive rebounds. UTRGV’s speed was a problem, though, and it’s something Moser is surely hoping his group learns from going forward.
*Otega Oweh continued his strong start to the season with 14 points and four assists. He had a crucial steal and bucket during that late-game run.
