OU drops home game to Texas Tech

Despite an off shooting night from top scorer Brady Manek, the Sooners took the Red Raiders down to the final shot

Tuesday’s game offered a glimpse at the long road that Oklahoma has ahead through the loaded Big 12 Conference.

The Sooners fell 69-67 in heartbreaking fashion to 15th-ranked Texas Tech in suffering their first home loss of the season.

Lon Kruger’s team faced its share of adversity throughout. Season scoring leaders Brady Manek and Austin Reaves finished a combined 5-21 shooting for just 15 points, well below their season averages.

“They're a very good defensive club,” Kruger said of his opponents' efforts to slow down his top scorers. “They make buckets hard to come by and you’ve got to finish when you get the opportunity because you just don’t get many open ones.”

Meanwhile, Chris Beard’s squad shot the lights out in the first half, shooting 59 percent from the field. The scoring was highlighted by Marcus Santos-Silver who posted 12 of his 18 points before the halftime break.

Despite the lackluster performance from their stars and and Tech’s 10-2 scoring run to close the half, the Sooners trailed by only eight heading into the locker room.

Oklahoma went on a run of its own early in the second half to cut the halftime deficit and keep it close. When Kruger called a timeout with exactly one minute left to play, the Sooners trailed by only 5.

Umoja Gibson knocked down a clutch 3-pointer out of the timeout to slice the lead to two before Texas Tech’s Mac McLung slipped past his man to finish an absurdly difficult layup with three Sooners all around him. That pushed the lead back to four with 30 seconds to go.

Reaves' only 3-pointer of the night came shortly after to keep the Sooners comeback hopes alive. After a perfect trip to the line from McLung, the Red Raiders elected to foul and send De’Vion Harmon to the line, where he would make the first of his two attempts.

The second attempt, a clear intentional miss, clanked off the iron into the waiting arms of Victor Iwuakor, who had subbed in seconds prior. Iwuakor was fouled quickly and sent to the line with a chance to tie the game.

He missed the first one, leaving no option but to intentionally miss yet again — trailing by two with only three seconds to go — and hope for another offensive rebound.

OU’s hopes were realized when the ball was tipped in the air twice before landing in the hands of an airborne Reaves, who let the shot go before he ever came back down. The ball banked off the backboard and rolled off the rim handing the Sooners the loss by a matter of centimeters.

“It was a great look. Can’t ask for a better look,” said Harmon who finished with a team high 17 points. “It's a tough one but we’re going to bounce back, I’m not worried.”

There is a lot for the Sooners to be happy about following a close loss. Taking the 15th-ranked team in the nation down to the wire is no small feat, and something Kruger and his squad will use moving forward.

That said, the schedule does not get any easier for Oklahoma as the Sooners face three straight opponents currently ranked in the AP’s top 15.

OU gets a brief break for the holidays before returning to action with home game against Bob Huggins’ No. 7-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers for their first game of the new calendar year on Jan. 2.

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