Moore scores 16 as No. 15 Oklahoma pulls away to defeat West Virginia 77-63

Thu, Jan 18, 2024
NCAAB News (AP)

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) - Jalon Moore scored 16 points and Javian McCollum and Rivaldo Soares each added 13 to help No. 15 Oklahoma defeat West Virginia 77-63 on Wednesday night.

Otega Oweh added 12 points and 10 rebounds for Oklahoma (14-3, 2-2 Big 12), which shot 63.6% in the second half to pull away. The Sooners bounced back from losses to TCU and Kansas.

Noah Farrakhan scored 14 points and RaeQuan Battle added 12 for West Virginia, which was trying to build momentum after upsetting then-No. 25 Texas last Saturday.

West Virginia (6-11, 1-3) led 18-12 before Oklahoma picked up the pace and went on an 8-0 run to take the lead. The Sooners led 29-25 at the break. It was a defensive-oriented first half - neither team shot 40% and no player on either team scored more than seven points in the first 20 minutes.

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Oklahoma kept it going at the start of the second half, and Oweh's two-handed jam made it 33-25. The Sooners held West Virginia scoreless for nearly three minutes after the break.

The Sooners led 49-35 when West Virginia's Farrakhan dunked on Oklahoma's 6-foot-10, 275-pound John Hughley IV and was fouled. Farrakhan picked up a technical on the play, so the Mountaineers didn't get as much momentum from it as they could have. After the sequence, Oklahoma led by at least 12 points the rest of the way.

BIG PICTURE

West Virginia: For a while, the Mountaineers again showed they could hang with one of the Big 12's best teams. But the Mountaineers were outrebounded 33-19 and made just 7 of 23 3-pointers.

Oklahoma: The Sooners got back on track and found their offense by picking up the pace and being aggressive. The Sooners shot 49% overall and made 22 of 30 free throws.

UP NEXT

West Virginia: Hosts Kansas on Saturday.

Oklahoma: Visits Cincinnati on Saturday.

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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

CLIFF BRUNT Brunt is an Associated Press sports writer covering major college and pro sports in Oklahoma, including the Thunder, Oklahoma Sooners, Oklahoma State Cowboys and Cowgirls and the Women's College World Series. He also covers race and equity issues. "