OU Comeback Bid Falls Short In Vegas

A 20-point first half deficit proved too much to overcome for Oklahoma, as the Sooners fell to No. 16 Washington, 69-67.

Sunday, December 21st 2014, 12:05 am

By: News 9

Vegas wasn't very kind to Oklahoma on Saturday night.

A 20-point first half deficit proved too much to overcome, as the Sooners fell to No. 16 Washington, 69-67.

The Sooners had a chance to win in the final seconds, but Jordan Woodard's game-winning shot attempt bounced on the rim several times before falling off.

Buddy Hield and Isaiah Cousins each scored 17 points for the Sooners, which dropped to 7-3 this season with the loss. Ryan Spangler and TaShawn Thomas each had 11, while Spangler grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season.

Jernard Jarreau led Washington with 12 points and Mike Anderson and Robert Upshaw each had 11 points.

Poor shooting for Oklahoma and a hot start for the Huskies led Washington to a 37-17 lead with 5:09 remaining in the first half. Washington went 5-of-11 from 3-point range in the first 20 minutes, while OU shot just 37.5 percent from the field, 1-of-7 from deep.

But the Sooners finally woke up late in the first half, closing the half on a 10-3 run to end the half down just 40-27.

The second half was one big comeback effort for the Sooners, as Oklahoma continued playing with the energy it discovered at the end of the first half. The Sooners shot 47 percent in the second half and took 12 more shots than the Huskies, thanks to seven offensive rebounds.

Oklahoma got the deficit in single digits for good with 11:42 left, and was down just three points with 9:25 remaining. But OU went cold from the field and didn't score for nearly four minutes as Washington built the lead back up to nine. The Sooners also had three turnovers in the four-minute span.

Two free throws from Thomas brought the Sooners within two at 66-64 with 3:40 left. After a Washington miss, the Sooners had four shots on their next possession to tie or take the lead, but couldn't get any of them to fall.

Thomas' jumper just the deficit to one with a minute left before Woodard's jumper fell off the rim.

Oklahoma is back in action at 7 p.m. Monday in Norman against Weber State.