Oklahoma Falls To Arkansas In Tight Road Contest

The Oklahoma Sooners have been involved in a lot of close games this season, but up until Tuesday night, the Sooners had always found a way to come away with a win.

BJ Young hit a layup in the lane with 14.7 seconds remaining to push the Arkansas Razorbacks to an 81-78 win over Oklahoma Tuesday night at Bud Walton Arena.

Romero Osby had a chance to win the game for Oklahoma, but his 18-foot jumper rattled out with eight seconds remaining. Arkansas corralled the miss and Marshawn Powell hit two free throws to seal the deal for the Razorbacks.

The Sooners found themselves down five with just under a minute remaining after a Young layup. Steven Pledger, who was ice-cold from the field in the first half, two three-pointers in 25 seconds to give OU a brief 78-77 lead with 20 seconds remaining before Young's heroics.

Powell led the Razorbacks with 33 points on 11-for-17 shooting. Mardracus Wade and Young each had 10 points.

The Razorbacks came into Tuesday night shooting 26.2 percent from three-point distance, but lit it up from behind the arc, hitting 9-of-22 shots for the game.

Oklahoma struggled to hold on to the ball, turning the ball over 17 times to just 14 assists. The Sooners went just 1-for-8 from three in the first half, but hit 5-of-7 in the second half.

Osby led the Sooners in scoring with 22 points off the bench on 9-of-12 shooting. Amath M'Baye had 14 and Pledger added 12.

The Sooners started strong with M'Baye getting inside for two early slam dunks to set the tone. Arkansas rebounded to quickly take the lead, thanks to nine points in less than five minutes from Powell.

Oklahoma was unable to contain the Arkansas shooters, as the Razorbacks hit five three-pointers in the first half, three of them by Powell, who ended the first half with 19 points on 7-for-9 shooting. Arkansas opened up their biggest lead with 4:51 left at 31-22 on a Powell layup.

The Sooners responded quickly, scoring eight points in 48 seconds to draw within one. The Razorbacks stymied the OU run, thanks to five quick points from Powell. Arkansas held a slim 41-38 lead at the break.

The Sooners will take a break for finals and will be back in action Dec. 15 when they take on Texas A&M in the All-College Classic at 1 p.m.