Sooners fight off Arkansas-Pine Bluff, pull away at McCasland Field House

NORMAN — Oklahoma snagged a 95-69 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Tuesday.

But it took some time before the Sooners gave the students at McCasland Field House something to cheer about.

The Sooners struggled to put the Golden Lions away for most of the game. The Golden Lions held a 22-21 late more than midway through the first half before the Sooners closed on a 21-9 run. 

Things looked better early in the second half as the Sooners sprinted out to a 16-point lead. But the Golden Lions cut the Sooners’ lead to eight midway through the second half as they continued to hang around.

The Golden Lions made one last run to cut the lead to 10 with a little over eight minutes to go. But the Sooners did just enough to pull away late, outscoring the Golden Lions by 16 over the final eight minutes.

With the win, the Sooners improve to 2-1 and bounce back from last weekend’s loss at Gonzaga. The Sooners are now 3-0 in games at McCasland Field House.

Here’s a few quick takeaways from the win:

Nijel Pack keeps OU afloat

The Sooners might’ve been in bigger trouble had it not been for Pack.

The former Miami transfer made three 3-pointers in the first half, which played a big role in giving the Sooners an 11-point halftime lead. Pack made two more triples after halftime, including one that gave the Sooners a cushion after the Golden Lions had cut the lead to eight.

Pack finished the game with 15 points on 5/8 shooting, with all five of his makes coming from beyond the arc. Pack has made 11 of his 25 3-pointers (44%) to start the season

Outside of Pack, the Sooners struggled to find consistent scoring until late in the game. Tae Davis finished with a double-double of 13 points and 15 rebounds, but he shot just 5/13 while leading the team in shot attempts.

Dayton Forsythe, Xzayvier Brown help Sooners pull away

Forsythe provided a nice spark off the bench in the first half, then helped the Sooners seal the win late. He made two 3-pointers with under eight minutes to go to help push OU’s lead to 20.

Forsythe finished with 15 points on 4/8 shooting (3/6 from 3) and led the team in plus-minus (22).

Xzayvier Brown shook off an up-and-down start, scoring a team-high 13 points in the second half. He finished with a team-high 19 points on 7/13 shooting, adding four rebounds, three assists and four steals.

Notes:

— Freshman big man Kai Rogers saw limited run off the bench. He went scoreless in 10 minutes, finishing with one rebound and a steal.

— After getting beat up on the glass against Gonzaga, the Sooners finished with a 42-31 advantage against the Golden Lions. The sooners also held a 19-8 advantage in points off turnovers.

— It’s been a tough couple of games for Davis, who is shooting 8/23 from the field over that stretch.

— Up next: The Sooners head to Sioux Falls, South Dakota to take on Nebraska at 6 p.m. Saturday (SECN+).

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