SPOKANE, Wash. — Playing its first true road non-conference game in three seasons, the Oklahoma men's basketball team lost 83-68 to No. 21 Gonzaga on Saturday night at Spokane Arena.
OU's loss snapped its 16-game regular season non-conference winning streak. It had won 29 of its previous 30 regular season non-conference outings.
Gonzaga outshot the Sooners 46% to 40% and posted a 58-20 advantage in paint points. The Bulldogs attempted 21 more shots, thanks in part to an 18-8 offensive rebounding advantage.
The Sooners (1-1) went up 8-3 after five points from
Derrion Reid and a traditional 3-point play by
Xzayvier Brown but had few answers defensively the rest of the first half as the Bulldogs (2-0) outscored OU 38-4 in the paint and 11-0 in second-chance points in the first 20 minutes en route to a 49-30 lead.
Gonzaga extended its advantage to as many as 24 points (68-44) with 7:46 left in the second half before OU rattled off nine straight points from
Xzayvier Brown (five) and
Tae Davis (four) to trim its deficit to 15.
The Sooners, who later got to within 13 points (75-62) on a 3-pointer from
Nijel Pack with 3:24 to go, outscored Gonzaga 38-34 after halftime.
Pack paced OU with 20 points while backcourt mate Brown netted 19 and Reid 11. Brown (14) and Pack (11) combined for 25 of the Sooners' 38 second-half points.
Tae Davis, who scored eight points, led the Sooners with eight rebounds while
Mohamed Wague added seven to go with his game-high three blocked shots.
Graham Ike led Gonzaga with 19 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out. He was one of four Bulldogs in double-figures scoring.
Two of the nation's best free throw shooting teams last year, OU made 16 of 18 attempts (89%) Saturday while Gonzaga was 5 for 11 (45%).
The Sooners are back in action Tuesday in Norman when they host Arkansas-Pine Bluff at 7 p.m. The game will be played at historic McCasland Field House, which was OU's home for men's basketball from 1928 through 1975.