Sooners Miss Opportunity, Fall At Home To No. 18 Kansas State

Coming off a big road win at Baylor on Wednesday night, the Oklahoma Sooners were hoping to continue the momentum Saturday night against No. 18 Kansas State.

However, the offensive struggles that plagued the Sooners late in the second half against Baylor continued against Kansas State, as the Wildcats slipped out of Norman with a 52-50 win over Oklahoma.

Kansas State guard Angel Rodriguez hit two free throws with 5.6 seconds left after OU guard Sam Grooms had tied the game at 50 with a 3-pointer and a layup in Oklahoma's previous two offensive possessions.

The Sooners had a chance to win at the buzzer, but Grooms' 3-point attempt fell short as time expired.

Neither team eclipsed the 40 percent shooting mark, as OU struggled to a 38.8 percent shooting night while the Wildcats hit just 37.5 percent of its shots.

Only three players scored in double figures during the game, two for Kansas State and one for the Sooners. Will Spradling led the Wildcats with 12 points, while Martavious Irving added 10 points off the bench.

Romero Osby scored 13 points for the Sooners, but hit just 5-of-12 shots.

The offenses for both sides were performing well in the first 10 minutes, with Kansas State jumping out to an 11-6 lead on a Spradling 3-pointer. The Sooners quickly close the gap, tying the game on an Isaiah Cousins 3, but KSU responded with a Rodney McGruder 3-pointer on the next possession.

With 6:27 remaining in the half, Osby hit a jumper that brought OU within a point of the Wildcats, 24-23. It would be 10 minutes and 41 seconds of game time before the Sooners would score again.

Meanwhile, thanks to solid defense by OU, the Wildcats went four and a half minutes without points, before scoring four points in the final two minutes to go into the locker room leading 28-23.

The second half began much like the first half ended. McGruder hit a jumper two minutes in to extend the KSU lead to seven, but that would be the Wildcats last points until a Shane Southwell free throw with 13:56 remaining in the game. The Sooners snapped their 10 minute drought with an Osby bucket with 15:43 remaining.

Kansas State maintained a six- or eight-point lead for much of the second half, responding to every OU basket until the Sooners made a final charge with two minutes remaining.

Osby hit a layup and was fouled. After making the free throw, the Sooners forced a turnover, with Cameron Clark getting a steal and hitting Grooms for a wide-open 3-pointer. Grooms, not known for his shooting from deep, hesitated for about two seconds before nailing the shot with 54.5 seconds remaining.

After a miss from Rodriguez, Grooms hit a layup with 13 seconds remaining before Amath M'Baye fouled Rodriguez to set up the game-winning free throws.