Oklahoma basketball: Krisitian Doolittle does it all in 29-point Sooner rout
By Chip Rouse
Kristian Doolittle recorded his second straight game of 20-plus points in leading Oklahoma men’s basketball to a 29-point rout of visiting Iowa State on Wednesday.
Five Sooners, including the Big Three of Doolittle, Brady Manek and Austin Reaves, scored in double figures as Oklahoma exploded for 50 points in the second half on the way to a 90-61 victory.
Doolittle followed up a 27-point performance in Oklahoma’s win over West Virginia on Saturday with a 20-point effort against the Cyclones. The senior forward from nearby Edmond, Oklahoma, also grabbed six rebounds and had three steals and three assists in the game.
Manek continued his hot hand with 18 points and four of five from behind the three-point line, Alondes Williams added 14, all in the second half, and Reaves and Jamal Bieniemy both contributed a dozen points each.
Iowa State stayed close in the opening half, shooting 50 percent from the floor, and trailed by just four points, 40-36, at halftime. But the Cyclones were no match for the hot-shooting Sooners in the second 20 minutes. OU outscored Iowa State 50-25 in the second half.
The Cyclones were playing their first game without their second leading scorer, Tyrese Haliburton. The sophomore point guard fractured his wrist in a win Saturday over Kansas State and will miss the rest of the season.
Junior Terrence Lewis came off the bench to lead Iowa State with 17 points, including three of five on three-balls. Sophomore guard Rasir Bolton, who had 23 points in the earlier game with Oklahoma and is averaging 15.3 for the season, was held to just six points on Wednesday.
The Sooners outrebounded Iowa State 40-27, including a 12-5 advantage on the offensive glass. and forced 15 Cyclone turnovers, while committing just six of their own.
The win improved Oklahoma’s season record to 16-8 and 6-5 in the Big 12. Iowa State falls to 10-14 overall and 3-8 in the conference. It also evened the season series between the two teams. The Cyclones won 81-68 in Ames in early January.
The Sooners’ next game is at No. 3 Kansas on Saturday.