Sooners Pull Away From Gamecocks in Second Half

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Jalon Moore scored 22 points and Oklahoma pulled away in the second half to beat South Carolina 82-62 on Saturday.

Moore made 6 of 10 shots from the floor and 10 of 11 at the free-throw line for the Sooners (14-4, 1-4 Southeastern Conference). He added eight rebounds.

Jeremiah Fears totaled 16 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for Oklahoma. Kobe Elvis added 12 points off the bench on 4-for-6 shooting from 3-point range.

Morris Ugusuk hit four 3-pointers and scored 15 to lead the Gamecocks (10-8, 0-5), who have dropped five in a row and have already lost as many conference games as last season when they tied for second place, earning Lamont Paris coach-of-the-year honors in his second season.

Collin Murray-Boyles finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out. It was his fifth double-double this season. Jacobi Wright added 10 points and five assists.

Moore had 10 points and Elvis scored nine to lead Oklahoma to a 34-30 advantage at halftime. Ugusuk buried a 40-foot 3-pointer to end the half.

Zachary Davis opened the second half with a 3-pointer for South Carolina and Ugusuk followed with a three-point play, giving the Gamecocks their first lead at 38-36 with 16:51 remaining.

Nick Pringle hit a jumper for South Carolina to tie it at 47, but Fears followed with a layup and Oklahoma never trailed over the final 14:23. The Sooners used a 13-0 run to up their lead to 72-54 with 4:05 left to play.

KEY STATS

• OU shot 56.0% (28-of-50) from the floor, including 59.3% (16-of-27) in the second half. The Sooners were also 18-of-21 (85.7%) at the free throw line for the game. They held a 20-12 rebound advantage the final 20 minutes.
• Turnovers were in issue for the second straight game as Carolina finished with 17 giveaways which to a 19-3 edge in points off turnovers for the Sooners.

NOTABLES

• Sophomore guard Morris Ugusuk had another double-figure outing, leading the team with 15 points on 4-of-9 shooting from distance. He sunk a halfcourt shot at the buzzer for the first half and now has made a career-best 29 3s this season thru 18 games.

• Sophomore forward Collin Murray-Boyles had 11 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high five steals (all in the first half). It’s his team-leading fifth double-double this season, which is second in the SEC.
• Senior guard Jacobi Wright finished with 10 points and a team-high five assists.

UP NEXT

South Carolina returns home for a pair of home games against top-25 opponents in No. 5/4 Florida and No. 15/18 Mississippi State. The Gamecocks face the Gators first on Wednesday at 7 p.m. (ET) with Mike Morgan (pxp) and Mark Wise (analyst) on the call for the SEC Network broadcast.

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