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NORMAN, Okla. – HBU men's basketball took a 27-22 lead into the half but ultimately fell to the host Oklahoma Sooners, 57-40, on Wednesday night at the Lloyd Noble Center.
The Huskies (1-4) got out to a 5-0 start thanks to a strong defensive effort, forcing a pair of early turnovers while the Sooners (5-1) opened the game missing their first five field goal attempts. Jacob Groves put OU on the board before a
Jade Tse layup again made it a five-point game a little over five minutes in.
OU then went on a 9-1 run to take an 11-8 advantage before leading by as many as four after an Elijah Harkless three at the 8:28 mark. HBU responded by scoring the next nine points, capped by a Tse's first three-pointer of the season to give the Huskies a 21-16 lead at the final media timeout of the half. Jordan Goldwire broke the Sooners' scoreless stretch with a layup but the Huskies again answered with a six-point burst highlighted by a
Darius Lee steal and fast break dunk over OU's Jalen Hill, making it a 27-18 HBU lead. The Sooners were able to close the gap with a pair of buckets in the final minute for a 27-22 game at the half.
In the second half, Oklahoma came out and found its stroke early, knocking down four threes as part of an 18-0 run to start the period to lead 40-27. The Sooners were just 1-of-12 from three in the first half but made four threes in the first seven minutes of the second. The Sooners lead got as high as 22 before the Huskies managed to close the game with an 8-3 run.
Tordoff led the Huskies with a season-high 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting and also pulled down five rebounds. Tse added a season-best nine points for HBU, connecting on 4-of-7 from the floor.
Za-Ontay Boothman ended the night with eight points and a new career-high on the boards with seven rebounds.
The Huskies finished the game shooting 34.8 percent (16-of-46) from the floor and just 15.4 percent (2-of-13) from three-point range. HBU held a slim 35-34 advantage on the boards over the Sooners. OU ended the game shooting 37.5 percent (21-of-56) from the field.
The Huskies will settle in in Houston for a four-game homestand after playing four of their first five on the road, hosting Southwestern Adventist in Sharp Gym on Monday, Nov. 29, at 7:00 p.m.
