National Basketball Association
Oklahoma 89, West Virginia 87
When: 7:00 PM ET, Wednesday, January 18, 2017
Where: WVU Coliseum, Morgantown, West Virginia
Officials:
# Mike Roberts, # Tom Eades, # Roger Ayers
Attendance:
11895
By The Sports Xchange
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Jordan Woodard's missed free throw cost Oklahoma a chance to upset No. 7 West Virginia in regulation, but the senior guard made amends in overtime.
Woodard's length-of-the-court drive and layup with 2.5 seconds left gave the Sooners a stunning 89-87 road victory Wednesday night.
"We had to gut it out in a tough environment," said Woodard, who scored 18 of his 20 points after halftime. "I just tried to redeem myself after missing the free throw. My team told me to go attack."
Despite trailing by 15 points in the final 10 minutes of regulation, Oklahoma (8-9, 2-4 Big 12) handed West Virginia (15-3, 4-2) its first home loss this season after 11 wins.
West Virginia's Jevon Carter finished with 23 points, 11 rebounds and six assists but made only one of two free throws with 7.8 seconds left in overtime, keeping the score tied.
That set up Woodard's decisive play, where he raced downcourt undeterred by West Virginia's normally tough defense. No trap ever materialized as he angled into the lane and hit a leaning layup over Mountaineers guard Tarik Phillip.
"Us not playing D again," said West Virginia forward Nathan Adrian. "Not like we played much the whole game, but especially that play."
Adrian added 14 points and Elijah Macon scored a season-high 13 for the Mountaineers, who missed 5-of-7 free throws in the extra period.
Kameron McGusty scored 17 points and Jamuni McNeace added 14 for the Sooners.
Woodard, an 86 percent foul shooter, missed a free throw with 3.1 seconds left in regulation after his basket tied it at 77. He had made 31 of his last 33 before the miss.
Carter scored over 6-foot-9 Khadeem Lattin with 19.3 seconds left to put West Virginia up 77-75.
Largely unbothered by Press Virginia's full-court harassment, Oklahoma erased second-half deficit, pulling even at 69 on Rashard Odomes' layup. The Sooners were averaging 14 turnovers per game but committed only 12.
"Anytime you play West Virginia you'll take that for sure," said Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger. "Their press is great. We just were able to not let it kill us tonight."
The Sooners led 37-34 at half, getting 12 points each from McNeace and McGusty, who had combined to average only 11 points per game.
By midway through the second half, West Virginia seemed to have the game in control. Adrian's driving layup and 3-pointer began a 6-of-6 shooting stretch and a 14-0 run that ballooned the margin to 66-51.
A situation that looked like curtains for the inexperienced Sooners instead became a riveting comeback.
"Our team being young right there might be better, because they didn't know they weren't supposed to do it," Kruger said.
NOTES: Sooners G Jordan Woodard, coming off a 14-for-14 foul-shooting performance against Texas Tech, missed a second-half free throw to stop his streak at 18 straight. ...Former West Virginia player John Flowers, a member of the 2010 Final Four team, used a timeout to make a courtside proposal to his girlfriend. ...Sooners F Jamuni McNeace reached double figures only once previously in 43 games, scoring 13 against Memphis last month. ... Mountaineers G Jevon Carter on squandering the big second-half lead: "We let up. We thought that since we had a lead the game was over. WE stopped guarding, started giving them easy shots."
Top Game Performances
Oklahoma |
|
West Virginia |
Jordan Woodard 20 |
Scoring |
Jevon Carter 23 |
Jordan Woodard 5 |
Assists |
Jevon Carter 6 |
Kristian Doolittle 7 |
Rebounds |
Jevon Carter 11 |
Rashard Odomes 5 |
Free Throws Made |
Tarik Phillip 4 |
Jordan Woodard 4 |
Steals |
Jevon Carter 2 |
Khadeem Lattin 4 |
Blocks |
Nathan Adrian 2 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Oklahoma
|
89 |
49.3 |
4-16 |
15-21 |
11 |
35 |
5 |
7 |
12 |
West Virginia
|
87 |
43.7 |
7-25 |
18-29 |
17 |
42 |
9 |
6 |
13 |