NORMANĀ ā Oklahoma jumped out to a 23-9 lead in the 108th Red River Rivalry meeting but was outscored 70-46 the rest of the way in a 79-69 loss to Texas at Lloyd Noble Center on Saturday.
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The Sooners (11-11, 1-8 SEC) started hot, making six of their first eight field goal attempts and holding the Longhorns (13-9, 4-5) to just three makes on their first 14 shots. But Texas flipped the script and went 27 for 35 (77%) over the final 30 minutes to hand OU its eighth consecutive defeat. For the game, UT shot an OU-opponent-season-high 61% from the floor and was 22 for 28 (79%) from two-point range.
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Nijel Pack led three Sooners in double-figures scoring with his game-high 23 points. It was his third straight outing over 20. The guard was 9 for 22 from the field and 3 for 8 from 3-point range while tying for the team lead with three assists.
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Xzayvier Brown and
Derrion Reid each contributed 15 points and a team-high five rebounds.
Kirill Elatontsev finished with nine points ā his second most this season ā to go along with four boards, three assists and two steals, and
Dayton Forsythe's five points were his most since Nov. 20.
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Texas's Dailyn Swain paced the Longhorns with 20 points and game highs of 10 rebounds, six assists and three steals.
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Pack scored eight of Oklahoma's first 15 points with the help of two 3-pointers and the Sooners took a 23-9 advantage with 9:37 left in the first half. UT responded with a 9-0 run to make it 23-18 and eventually knotted the score at 30 with 44 seconds left before Brown's first 3-pointer gave OU a 33-30 lead at the break.
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Texas took its first lead of the day at 41-40 on two Swain free throws with 15:49 remaining, but it disappeared on the next possession thanks to a Reid corner trey. Another Brown 3-pointer following a tip-out by
Mohamed Wague pushed OU's lead to 61-55 with 8:38 to go, only to see Texas score seven straight.
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Brown's follow with 5:56 to go put the Sooners back in front 63-62, but it was their last lead of the game as the Longhorns posted a 17-6 advantage over the last 5:32.
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The Sooners turned 10 offensive rebounds into 16 points and forced 14 Texas turnovers while committing just nine.
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The game marked the fourth in the last five for Oklahoma to hold a halftime lead but not win.
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OU is back in action Wednesday for the first of two straight road games when it faces Kentucky at 8 p.m. CT. The game will be televised by ESPN2.