University of Oklahoma Athletics
University of Oklahoma
5-1,0-0Big 12
Houston Baptist
1-4,0-0Southland
OU Downs HBU After Second Half Surge
November 24, 2021 | Men's Basketball
NORMAN – Behind a second half surge, Oklahoma men's basketball (5-1, 0-0 Big 12) defeated Houston Baptist (1-4, 0-0 Southland) 57-40 Wednesday night at Lloyd Noble Center.
Jordan Goldwire and Elijah Harkless led the Sooners on both ends of the court. The backcourt duo made numerous stops on the defensive end, aiding the Sooners to a season-high 22 forced turnovers.
Harkless tallied a team-high 13 points on 4-for-8 shooting and grabbed a team-best nine boards. Goldwire pitched in 11 points and made a critical 3-pointer to help switch the momentum in Oklahoma's favor to start the second half.
After entering halftime down 27-22, the Sooners found their rhythm.
Umoja Gibson and Tanner Groves tallied back-to-back 3-pointers to open the half before Goldwire added a layup.
The Sooners continued to pull away from the Huskies after Jacob Groves made a quick jumper, which was followed by a C.J. Noland three with a little over 14 minutes remaining.
Goldwire's 3-pointer on the next position pushed the Sooners' lead to double-figures for the first time all game.
Harkless evaded the HBU defense on a driving layup to give the Sooners an 18-0 run through the first seven minutes of the second half.
OU continued its fast-paced attack on the Huskies and held HBU to only five points through the first 13 minutes of the half.
After allowing Houston Baptist to make 57.9% of its shots from the field in the first half, OU held the Huskies to 18.5%. HBU finished the contest shooting only 15.4% from beyond the arc.
PORTER MOSER ON THE CHANGE AT HALFTIME ...
I was pleased. I was not happy at half. They knew it and a fly on the wall would know it in the locker room. They (OU defense) came out and held them to five points in the first 15 minutes. Beside that our defense was night and day different, all of the ball movement and the ball was really popping around the perimeter, and we were getting better shots
JORDAN GOLDWIRE ON SECOND HALF MINDSET ...
We knew we had a game to win. They were coming onto our court and we were not going to go out there and roll over on our own floor. We had to come out and bring more energy in the second half and play the way we knew we were capable of.
KEY STAT
After allowing Houston Baptist to shoot 57.9% from the field in the first half, Oklahoma clamped down on defense and limited HBU to 18.5% in the second half.
UP NEXT
Oklahoma competes in its first true road contest of the season when it travels to Orlando to play UCF Saturday, Nov. 27 at 1 p.m. (CT).
