Though Sooners take Bedlam, they've got to be better than this

Oklahoma’s Rivaldo Soares and La’Tre Darthard congratulate each other during the Sooners’ 66-62 Bedlam victory over Oklahoma State Saturday night at Lloyd Noble Center. (OU Athletics Photo)

Hand it to the Sooners.

At the very end, Saturday night at Lloyd Noble Center, they closed.

Nothing came easy.

Owe it to Bedlam, perhaps.

You know, throw out the records, it’s a physical game, hard to find a rhythm, blah, blah, blah.

Or, maybe, owe it to Bedlam, for an entirely different set of reasons. 

Owe it to Bedlam because Oklahoma State, valiant effort notwithstanding, remains the worst team in the Big 12 and, given that, good guy though Mike Boynton is, can we all root for Doug Gottlieb to be the Pokes’ next coach? 

Owe it to Bedlam because, win or lose, nothing ever comes easy for Oklahoma, even on its home court, even against the conference’s worst team.

But the Sooners closed.

Down four points in a game four points felt like a lot more, with just 5:40 remaining, OU found itself.

It found points on 7 of 9 possessions the rest of the way, while OSU converted on 2 of 10.

Jalon Moore and Le’Tre Darthard each knocked down 3s. Javian McCollum and Moore combined to make six straight free throws.

OSU had a possession to tie, taking the ball out of bounds with 9.5 seconds remaining, but Rivaldo Soares forced a turnover instead.

The Sooners prevailed 66-62.

They needed it.

Losing would have been disastrous.

They did not lose.

Three cheers for coach Porter Moser’s Sooners. 

Even though his team may not have had the chance to close against any other conference opponent.

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