Tanner Groves scored 21 points to lead Oklahoma to a 72-62 win over West Virginia in a Big 12 game Wednesday night in Morgantown, W.Va.
Groves had struggled during the Sooners’ four-game losing streak coming into the game, averaging just seven points and shooting just 40 percent after averaging 14.3 points on 59.1 percent shooting through the first 14 games.
Sooners coach Porter Moser shook up his lineup, starting Jacob Groves, Tanner’s brother, for the first time this season while bringing Elijah Harkless off the bench.
Whatever the cause was, Tanner Groves turned in one of his best games of the season, finishing 9 of 11 from the floor.
Oklahoma (13-7, 3-5 Big 12) shot 51.1 percent (23-for-45) from the floor.
Tanner Groves got going early, scoring 10 points in the first 11 minutes, making five of his first six shots. He scored seven during a 15-4 first-half run that put the Sooners up 27-16.
Jacob Groves had a season-high 12 points, while Umoja Gibson also scored 12 with five steals.
Oklahoma led by 17 with just more than six minutes remaining after scoring seven consecutive points — five by Jacob Groves.
But the Mountaineers (13-6, 2-5) didn’t go away, answering with a 9-0 run of their own.
West Virginia kept chipping away, cutting the deficit to six with 59 seconds remaining. The Mountaineers couldn’t get any closer, though, as the Sooners closed things out at the free-throw line.
Oklahoma made its first 18 free throws, not missing from the line until less than two minutes remained, and finished 21 of 22.
The Sooners attempted just two field goals over the last seven minutes, making one. But Oklahoma scored 11 of its final 13 points at the free-throw line.
The Mountaineers were just 1 of 5 from the floor in the final five minutes.
West Virginia has lost four consecutive games and five of its last seven.
Senior Gabe Osabuohien scored a career-high 17 points to lead the Mountaineers. Jalen Bridges added 12 and Taz Sherman 11 in the loss.
Harkless, who averaged nearly 30 minutes per game coming in, played just four minutes.
–Field Level Media
