Sooners drop second consecutive SEC game despite Nijel Pack's 24 points

Despite and up-and-down first half, Oklahoma continued to hang around in College Station. With 13:59 left in the game, a Nijel Pack 3-pointer even gave the Sooners a four-point lead.

Then, the wheels fell off for the Sooners. They scored just 12 points over the final 14 minutes, as they saw their four-point dwindle.

The result? The Sooners fell to Texas A&M, 83-76, dropping their second consecutive game in conference play. With the loss, the Sooners fall to 11-5 and 1-2 in SEC play.

The Sooners lost despite a season-best outing for Pack, who finished with 24 points on 6/13 shooting from deep, six rebounds and five assists. Pack was the main source of offense for most of the game, pouring in 13 points in the first half to keep the Sooners within striking distance.

Derrion Reid chipped in 19 points and 11 rebounds on 6/10 shooting. Outside of Pack and Reid, the Sooners scored 33 points on 12/31 shooting.

The defense was there for the Sooners, who held the Aggies to under 42% shooting from the floor and 30% from the 3-point line. But the offense struggled with the Aggies’ full-court pressure. The Sooners committed 16 turnovers — 11 in the first half — which led to 16 Texas A&M points.

And as Pack dealt with foul trouble late, the offense struggled to generate consistent looks down the stretch.

Notes

— Mohamed Wague again struggled with foul trouble. The starting big man committed four fouls and played just 17 minutes, finishing with five points and five rebounds.

With Wague in foul trouble, and Kirill Elatontsev and Kai Rogers not doing much in limited minutes, the Sooners opted to play small with Tae Davis at the five for large stretches of the game.

It’s clear the Sooners have real issues with their center rotation, which combined for seven points and nine rebounds.

— The Sooners again didn’t get much from their bench, which scored nine against the Aggies and 12 over the last two games. Dayton Forsythe (two points) just hasn’t looked right since his ankle injury. Jadon Jones (three points) hasn’t been impactful in the last two games. Kuol Atak (eight minutes) has barely seen the floor.

The Aggies’ bench scored 24 points.

— Despite Wague’s foul trouble, the Sooners won the rebounding battle (43-31) and the second-chance points battle (18-7). But the turnovers proved too much to overcome.

— It was another tough game for Xzayvier Brown, who finished with seven points on 3/9 shooting.

— Up next: The Sooners host Florida at 8 p.m. Tuesday (ESPN2).

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