Bedlam basketball goes to OU again, learning from past mistakes to put down Cowboys

OKLAHOMA CITY – You can always tell what the message is from OU basketball head coach Porter Moser. Because he says it so much during practice that it gets echoed by the players in any media setting.

Heading into Saturday, into Bedlam, it was about not taking a loss in vain. Or, basically, learn from your mistakes and fix them.

And OU was face to face with a problem this season, and this time? The Sooners fought through it. Persevered and came up with arguably their biggest win of the season.

The Bedlam trophy is staying in Norman for one more season as OU took down Oklahoma State 85-76 at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.

OU was absolutely blitzed last weekend against Arizona State. And Moser’s message was simple – you have to learn how to respond to a run.

If ever there was a run, it was what OSU was able to do midway through the second half. OU led 41-35 at the break and appeared to be on its way toward separating, but it didn’t happen.

OSU rallied to take a 53-51 lead, and that’s when OU punched back.

Not with names like Nijel Pack or Tae Davis (nine points, 10 rebounds). Instead, the bench gave big-time contributions in clutch moments and righted the ship.

“We just talked about that in our locker room, how we grew and learned from the last game on how to handle a run,” Moser said. “I thought OSU made a great run. They got their crowd into it. They made a great run.

“Our huddles coming out of there, I thought we responded every time we took a punch. I thought both teams played unbelievably hard. Both teams played well. I thought the way they fought — there should be no regrets on effort, toughness on either side. That was a hard-fought rivalry game.”

Then down the stretch, it was the familiar names. Pack was huge all afternoon, coming up with 18 points and connecting on four 3-pointers.

But this game was about Xzayvier Brown. A Philadelphia kid who had zero clue about Bedlam delivered his best performance of the season.

After only scoring 22 points in the previous three games combined, he had 21 points, five assists, three rebounds and just one turnover in nearly 33 minutes of action.

“It was definitely big,” Brown told SoonerScoop. “I would say it was kind of easier just having great teammates, great coaching staff. Everybody was just sticking with me and just giving me words of encouragement, you know, so it was fun.”

It is the first loss of the season for the Cowboys and a huge shot in the arm for the Sooners (7-3) at just the right time.

OU news/notes

*It doesn’t look like a lot, but 22 bench points is big for the Sooners. And OU got contributions from just about everybody at random times.

Nobody was especially dominant or anything. However, whenever OU needed a bucket or a stop, guys came through.

“There was a run in the second half when our second shift was in,” Moser said. “Jeff, Kuol, Jadon, Kai and Dayton were in there. They did give us a spark. If you’re going to be a good team at this level, you need contributions from nine, 10 guys. If it’s five minutes, make it the best five minutes. If it’s 10 minutes…”

Jadon Jones had nine points (on three 3-pointers) in just under 28 minutes. And Dayton Forsythe iced the game at the free throw line as part of his four-point, three-rebound outing in 16 minutes.

*Moser keeping it rolling against the Cowboys. After starting 1-4 vs. OSU, he is now 4-0 in the last three seasons. Officially over .500 at 5-4 lifetime and took time to embrace the moment with OU fans after the victory.

Keep it at Paycom

Period. Let’s not even discuss moving Bedlam from Paycom Center. The atmosphere has delivered back-to-back years. And, yea, OU might be in favor of it since it has come out on the winning end both seasons as well.

“Awesome. I think it’s awesome,” Moser said. “Both fan bases were great. Both fan bases were energetic and cheering for their team. I joked with the guy in the front. One was Oklahoma, one was Oklahoma State. I go, lucky you’re not spouses. If you see Bears/Packers next to each other, that’s a thing and sitting right next to each other.

“Trust me, it means a lot. Both teams had great turnouts, both teams played their tails off. It was a great atmosphere. I think it’s really cool they played here at Paycom.”

You know it means a lot to Forsythe, but even someone like Pack could appreciate it. Someone who has been in the Final Four, played in Kansas-Kansas State.

Keep it at Paycom.

“Honestly, it was quite shocking,” Pack said. “I kind of thought it would be better to play, you know, home-and-home, but for the crowd to come out like this and fill up an NBA arena, it was awesome. I was really happy to see the Sooner Nation show out and be loud and it was actually a really fun environment to play in.

“Honestly, you could see down the stretch, the crowd was getting really loud and really into it and this is kind of what you dream of as a kid, to play in environments like this. I’m really glad to be a part of this type of rivalry, man. This was really fun and I’m glad we were able to get the win.”