Sooners win Rady Children’s Invitational by edging USC after beating Iowa
SAN DIEGO — The Oklahoma Sooners men’s basketball team celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday by bringing home a trophy.
SAN DIEGO — The Oklahoma Sooners men’s basketball team celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday by bringing home a trophy.
Otega Oweh tipped in Javian McCollum’s missed jumper with 1.4 seconds left to give OU a thrilling 72-70 victory over No. 23 Southern California on Friday in the championship game of the inaugural Rady Children’s Invitational.
The Sooners (6-0) opener the event with a 79-67 win over Iowa on Thanksgiving Day afternoon. McCollum was named the event’s Most Valuable Player.
In the victory over USC, Boogie Ellis’ desperation heave was off the mark at the buzzer, setting off a wild celebration for the Sooners.
USC’s D.J. Rodman was fouled by Oweh with 27.9 seconds left and made both ends of a one-and-one to tie it at 70-all. OU called a timeout with 25.4 seconds left and played for the final shot. McCollum’s step-back jumper from just inside the 3-point line with about three seconds left bounced off the rim, but Oweh crashed from the side, got over Rodman for the rebound and put in the winner.
Neither Rodman, the son of former National Basketball Association rebounding great Dennis Rodman, nor any of the other three Trojans in and near the key boxed out.
OU men’s coach Porter Moser said Oweh knew he had to crash.
“I love how Otega got bottled up on one possession and then fouled, and then he came back and made that play,” Moser said. “He came out of nowhere and made a great athletic play.”
In the win over Iowa, Jalon Moore made 6-of-7 from the field, 5-of-5 from the freethrow line and finished with 18 points.
McCollum scored 14 points, Oweh 13 and Sam Godwin added 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting for OU.
OU scored eight of the game’s first 10 points before McCollum and Rivaldo Soares each hit a 3-pointer in a 12-4 spurt that stretched the lead to double figures with 11 minutes left in the half. Sam Godwin’s lay-up with seven seconds remaining gave the Sooners a 36-24 lead at intermission.
Dasonte Bowen made a lay-up to open the second half and trim Iowa’s deficit to 10 points, but the Sooners scored 10 of the next 12 and the Hawkeyes got no closer. Le’Tre Dathard hit two free throws with 4:11 to play that gave OU its biggest lead of the game at 74-52.
