Sooners Race Past Roadrunners In Men's Basketball Season Opener

Austin Reaves scored 17 of his 23 points in the second half to help Oklahoma defeat Texas-San Antonio 85-67 on Tuesday night in the season opener for both teams.  

Reaves, a transfer from Wichita State, made 8 of 13 shots in the second half after going 1 for 7 in the first.

Freshman De'Vion Harmon scored 23 points and Brady Manek added 16 for the Sooners, who outscored the Roadrunners 49-31 in the second half.

Oklahoma forward Kristian Doolittle sat out because of an NCAA rules violation. Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger announced Monday that the senior played in an unsanctioned summer league game during the offseason.

Still, it was a dominant performance for Oklahoma against a team that was picked to finish second in Conference USA.

Jhivvan Jackson, the Conference USA preseason Player of the Year, had 24 points and 13 rebounds for UTSA, but he made just 9 of 25. Keaton Wallace added 17 points and nine rebounds for the Roadrunners.

The game was tied at 36 at halftime. Oklahoma shot just 36 percent from the field but made 12 of 13 free throws before the break. UTSA shot 41 percent and outrebounded the Sooners 24-16 in the first half.

UTSA led 38-36 before Harmon drained two 3-pointers to put the Sooners ahead. Reaves followed with a pair of layups to put Oklahoma ahead 46-38, and the Sooners rolled from there.

BIG PICTURE

Oklahoma: The Sooners grew up quickly. The relied on their defense in the first half, then found their shooting stroke in the second half and pulled away. It was an impressive win against a team likely to contend for an NCAA Tournament berth.

UP NEXT

Oklahoma plays Minnesota on Saturday in Sioux Falls, S.D.