Coming off of their successful week in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in the Bahamas, the Oklahoma Sooners got off to a sluggish start against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the SEC/ACC Challenge.
Georgia Tech took an 11-point lead with just over 12 minutes to play in the first half, but the Sooners began to chip away, scoring 24 points to close the half down just four. They carried that momentum into the second half, outscoring the Yellow Jackets 46-27 to earn a decisive 15-point win and move to 8-0.
Here are three takeaways from the win.
Shot Out of It
The Oklahoma Sooners didn’t shoot well for much of the first half, but they continued to fire away from deep to find some momentum. [autotag]Kobe Elvis[/autotag], who has been one of Oklahoma’s top three scorers, was 3 of 5 from three to lead the Sooners with nine first half points. All of his points came after the 12-minute mark of the first half.
Those three’s were huge to cut into Georgia Tech’s lead and put the Sooners in striking distance to start the second half.
No Fear(s)
One of the catalysts for Oklahoma’s turnaround was true freshman [autotag]Jeremiah Fears[/autotag], who continues to impress in his first season at the collegiate level. After being held to just two points, one assist, and one turnover in the first half, Fears turned in a stellar performance in the second half.
After the break, Fears scored 16 points on 4 of 7 shooting and was 8 of 9 from the free throw line. He also added five rebounds and two assists to help propel the Oklahoma Sooners to the win.
He finished the game with 18 points to lead the Sooners in scoring, but Oklahoma showed off its scoring depth in the win.
Spread the Wealth
The Oklahoma Sooners had five players score in double figures, led by Fears 18 points. [autotag]Jalon Moore[/autotag] had another strong performance, finishing with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Elvis had 12 points, going 4 of 8 from three-point range. Duke Miles had 11 points and Brycen Goodine had 11 points off the bench.
When the Sooners can get depth scoring like they did against the Yellow Jackets on Tuesday night, they’ll be difficult to beat.
Next, the No. 21 Oklahoma Sooners welcome Alcorn State to the Lloyd Noble Center on Dec. 7 before meeting up with Oklahoma State at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City for the first nonconference Bedlam clash between the two programs.
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