Oklahoma men's basketball loses late at hands of former player

Otega Oweh was booed by Sooner Nation the moment he stepped on the court Wednesday night at Lloyd Noble Center, then he had his best game ever in the venue even after two years of calling it home.

The Oklahoma Sooners let another game slip away late as Oweh, a junior guard, powered the No. 17 Kentucky Wildcats to an 83-82 win after a back-and-forth affair.

After ending a five-game losing streak with a win against then-No. 21 Mississippi State on Saturday, the Sooners had a chance at another top-25 upset at home, but instead dropped to 17-11 overall and 4-11 in SEC play.

Kentucky improved to 19-9 and got back above .500 in conference play at 8-7.

The Sooners had a one-point lead with as little as 20 seconds left after Jalon Moore sank a pair of clutch free throws with his good friend and former teammate, Oweh, to his left and in his ear between attempts.

Oweh then drove through the OU defense and made the unbelievable eventual game-winning shot while falling toward the hardwood.

"Hats off to him, he had a phenomenal game, made some really tough shots, and (we) couldn't get a stop down the stretch," OU coach Porter Moser said during his postgame press conference.

The Sooners still had 6.1 seconds and a timeout left, but Moser kept the final timeout in his pocket, letting freshman Jeremiah Fears go in for the win with no real plan. Fears was ultimately blocked at the basket as the Sooners once again executed poorly in the last possession of a close game with Moser in control.

Moser said postgame that Kentucky had been denying Fears during inbound plays.

"(Fears) had the ball and he got right to the rim -- you guys could look at the clip, I just looked at it -- there were so many calls at the rim down there and down here, and Jeremiah got to the rim, right there," Moser said. "(I) wanted the ball in his hands for sure. We work on it -- attack before the defense can get set. And five seconds he got right to the rim and didn't make the play. ...

"You always go back, could you call a timeout? But then if they deny him the ball, they double him. Well, you really wanted (Fears) with the ball in his hands, and I trust him. We work on that in practice -- the attack -- and he makes so many things happen on that attack before the defense gets set. And that one didn't go our way."

In his return to Norman, Oweh scored a career-high 28 points while also adding six rebounds, a steal and a block. He was most potent down the stretch, though, accounting for 21 of Kentucky's final 23 points, including 18 straight points to close things out. He was the only Wildcat to score after the nine-minute mark.

Oweh spent the first two years of his career at OU before transferring last offseason. He averaged 11.4 games last season while starting 28 games as a sophomore.

This season, Oweh is Kentucky's leading scorer, entering Wednesday night's game with a 15.7 average. He's been phenomenal all season, but nothing like he was against his former team.

"It's a great feeling, just coming to your old space and getting a win," Oweh said. "Yeah, I definitely heard the boos, and as a basketball player it's just cool getting that type of attention, and definitely coming out with a win is a great feeling."

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