Oklahoma basketball: Brady Manek goes manic in Bedlam blowout by Sooners
By Chip Rouse
Two of the Oklahoma basketball big three poured in 51 points as the Sooners turned round one of 2020 Bedlam hoops into an Oklahoma-sized tornado, destroying in-state rival Oklahoma State 81-69 in Norman on Saturday.
The Sooners (14-7, 4-4) never trailed in the game, opening up a double-digit lead midway through the first half and extending the advantage to twice that in the second half in a contest that wasn’t as close as the final score indicated.
Brady Manek was absolutely on fire in the first-half, draining six of nine three-point attempts on his way to a 22-point first-half performance. The 6-foot, 9-inch junior forward totaled 30 points for the game, just one point shy of his career high set two weekends ago in a similar blowout win over TCU.
Manek wasn’t alone in having a big game for the Sooners. Austin Reaves contributed 21 points, including a couple of electrifying breakaway slam dunks, and Alondes Williams reached double figures for the third straight game coming off the bench to score a dozen points.
Kristian Doolittle, the Sooners’ second leading scorer, totaled just six points but grabbed 10 rebounds, including three offensive boards. His first bucket, three minutes into the game, gave him 1,000 for his OU career, the 47th Sooner to reach that level in scoring.
The Sooners shot 50 percent for the game, with 36 of their 81 points coming on 12 of 31 from three-point range. Oklahoma is now 13-1 when it posts a better shooting percentage than its opponent. Then win was OU’s 10th in the last 11 games against Oklahoma State in Norman.
Cameron McGriff led OSU with 15 points, and Thomas Dziagwa added another 15 for the Cowboys coming off the bench.
Oklahoma State drops below .500 for the season, at 10-11, after beginning the 2019-20 campaign with seven consecutive wins. Since going 7-0 to start the season, the Cowboys have gone 3-11, including nine straight losses.
The Sooners next go to Lubbock, Texas, on Tuesday for their first meeting this season with Texas Tech.