Stormin in Norman
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Oklahoma basketball: Sooners advance to ESPN Events championship

By Chip Rouse

Nov 25, 2022; Orlando, FL, USA; Seton Hall Pirates guard Kadary Richmond (0) dribbles past Oklahoma Sooners forward Jalen Hill (1) during the second half at ESPN Wide World of Sports. Mandatory Credit: Rich Storry-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 25, 2022; Orlando, FL, USA; Seton Hall Pirates guard Kadary Richmond (0) dribbles past Oklahoma Sooners forward Jalen Hill (1) during the second half at ESPN Wide World of Sports. Mandatory Credit: Rich Storry-USA TODAY Sports /
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Grant Sherfield scored a season-high 25 points in leading men’s Oklahoma basketball to a 77-64 win over Seton Hall in the ESPN Events Invitational Tournament in Kissimmee, Florida on Friday.

Much like what happened in the Sooners game 24 hours earlier, Seton Hall jumped out in front in the early going, before Oklahoma got into a rhythm offensively and took its first lead of the game, 12-10, six minutes into the game.

The score went back and forth for most of the opening half before Oklahoma pulled ahead at the four-minute mark, 27-25, and held onto the lead, albeit by a single point, 34-33, at the half.

Seton Hall opened up a five-point lead, 47-42, a little more than four minutes into the second half.

Sam Godwin made a layup at the 10:52 mark in the second half to give the Sooners a 54-53 lead and OU never trailed after that, gradually widening the advantage to double digits.

For the second-straight game, Oklahoma shot better than 50 percent from the field and limited their turnovers to single digits.

Godwin had 12 points coming off the bench for the Sooners. Jalen Hill and Jacob Groves added 10 a piece.

OU’s Sherfield, a transfer from Nevada, made six of nine shots in the first half and scored 13 of his game-high 25 points in the opening 20 minutes.

Oklahoma improves to 5-1 and moves on to face Ole Miss (6-0) in the championship game of the ESPN Events Invitational on Sunday. The Sooners have won five straight games after suffering a season-opening loss to Sam Houston State.

Three takeaways from OU’s win over Seton Hall:

  • Four Sooner players scored in double digits as Oklahoma had one of its better shooting games in the season, making 29 of 56 shots for 51.8 percent.
  • For the second straight game, Oklahoma limited turnovers to single digits. After averaging nearly 14 turnovers a game coming into the ESPN Events Invitational Tournament, the Sooners committed just 8 turnovers in the win over Seton Hall. On the other end of the court, however, Oklahoma turned 14 Seton Hall turnovers into 17 points.
  • The Oklahoma defense tightened up in the second half, holding Seton Hall to 37.5-percent shooting after going 14 for 28 (50.0 percent) from the field in the first half.
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