Stormin in Norman
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Oklahoma basketball: Reserves rise once more in 90-66 Sooner home win

By Chip Rouse

Nov 17, 2023; Norman, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma Sooners guard Javian McCollum (2) drives around UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros guard DeAnthony Tipler Jr. (3) during the second half at Lloyd Noble Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 17, 2023; Norman, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma Sooners guard Javian McCollum (2) drives around UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros guard DeAnthony Tipler Jr. (3) during the second half at Lloyd Noble Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Oklahoma men closed out both halves with a flourish and rolled to a 90-66 win over outmatched University of Texas Rio Grande Valley on Friday night.

It was the final game in a four-game homestand at Lloyd Noble Center to open the season for the 4-0 Sooners. It also was the second consecutive game Oklahoma has reached the 90-point level. OU is outscoring its opponents by a 33-point margin (88.5 to 55.5) through four games.

Pittsburgh transfer John Hugely IV led five Sooners in double figures in the win over UTRGV with 16 points. Three other OU newcomers scored in double digits. Oregon transfer Rivaldo Soares had 15 points, Utah Valley transfer Le’Tre Darthard added 13 and Javian McCollum, who played two seasons at Siena before transferring to OU, put in 11.

Sooner sophomore Otega Oweh, who leads the team in scoring, averaging 15.3 points a game, contributed 11.

The game was tied at 25 in the opening half before Oklahoma went on a 22-8 run over the final eight and a half minutes to take a 47-33 lead into halftime. The Vaqueros were within 10, 62-52, with nine and a half minutes remaining in the game when the Sooners kicked it into another gear and outscored UTRGV 28-14 the rest of the way to turn the contest into a rout.

Porter Moser’s squad is off to a great start, but the competition ramps up appreciably from here. The Sooners head to San Diego next week for the Rady Children’s Invitational where they will face Iowa followed by either Seton Hall or USC. And after that, they have December dates with Providence, Arkansas and North Carolina dead ahead.

Three takeaways from Oklahoma’s win over UTRGV

  • For the second game in a row, the Sooners scored more than half of their points in the paint. OU scored 50 points in close against UTRGV and 48 earlier in the week in a 93-54 win over Texas State.
  • Porter Moser welcomed six new players to the OU roster this season via the transfer portal. Three of the Sooners top four scorers this season are transfers: Javian McCollum (12.0), John Hugely IV (11.8) and Le’Tre Darthard (10.5).
  • Oklahoma’s bench players have averaged 37.5 points per game through the first four games. The Sooner reserves scored 44 points in the win over UTRGV.
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