Reaves, Manek catalyze offensive attack as Sooners bury Oral Roberts

Oklahoma races to dominant 79-65 victory behind its two star seniors and a breakout performance from Umoja Gibson

De'Vion Harmon :: Pool photo / Ty Russell

Granted, Lon Kruger doesn't have a Trae Young-esque scorer on his roster.

But that's no longer the recipe for success on the hardwood in Norman.

As long as the Sooners continue to lock down opposing shooters and spread the wealth on offense, they're going to win plenty of basketball games.

Austin Reaves scored 16 of his team-high 18 points in the second half, Brady Manek poured in 17 and grabbed nine rebounds, and Oklahoma forged past Oral Roberts 79-65 on Thursday night to improve to 4-1 on the season.

Brady Manek :: Pool photo / Ty Russell

The Golden Eagles couldn't solve the Sooners' frenetic defense, as they went just 22-of-67 from the floor and 9-of-32 from behind the arc. Poor ball distribution also plagued ORU, as Paul Mills' team totaled just six assists on the night.

Sweet-shooting guard Umoja Gibson reeled off all of his 14 points in the first half for Oklahoma, connecting on 4 of 5 three-point attempts before the intermission. Despite playing just 16 minutes, the North Texas transfer produced his highest scoring output as a Sooner.

The Sooners scored the first seven points of the game on a three-pointer from Manek and consecutive buckets from Kur Kuath, eventually building a 40-22 advantage at the intermission behind Gibson's hot shooting. At one point, the 6-foot-1 shooting guard went on an 8-0 run all by himself, bookending a fast-break layup with a pair of triples.

"Great to see that from Moj. He's just worked so hard," said Kruger of Gibson. "I thought tonight he had great rhythm, and he got the first couple down, and looked awfully comfortable."

Austin Reaves and Alondes Williams :: Pool photo / Ty Russell

Come the second half, it was Reaves who took over. The Arkansas native hit 5 of 6 shots from the field and went 6-for-7 from the charity stripe. He led the team with 10 rebounds, thus logging his first double-double of the season despite a slow start. 

"He had what, seven assists tonight?" Kruger asked. "He's very secure as a player, yet when he needs to go and score, he's very capable of doing that."

Nine players got in the scoring column for the Sooners, who connected on 42 percent of their shots from the field. Freshman guard Trey Phipps put up seven points in 12 minutes, and transfer Elijah Harkless got his first taste of action as a Sooner. Though Harkless didn't score, the former CSU-Northridge standout notched four rebounds and an assist in 10 minutes of play. 

"Depth, especially in a year like this when you're not always sure what your roster is going to look like, is huge," said Kruger. "We've got a lot of guys that can score. Good to have that for sure, and they keep improving defensively as well."

Oklahoma led by as many as 23 points before the Golden Eagles closed with a 12-3 run to make the score respectable. In the loss, guard Max Abmas paced ORU with 20 points, while Kevin Obanor racked up 16. 

The Sooners will take the court again on Saturday for their final nonconference tilt before Big 12 play opens, as they'll host Houston Baptist at the Lloyd Noble Center. Tip-off is slated for 4 p.m.

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