Grant Sherfield recorded 17 points and eight assists and Jacob Groves made a stellar late-game blocked shot to help Oklahoma pull out a 64-60 victory over South Alabama on Friday night at Norman, Okla.
Tanner Groves had 15 points, 11 rebounds and six assists as the Sooners (3-1) won their third consecutive game.
Isaiah Moore scored 25 points to pace South Alabama (1-3). Tyrell Jones added 12 points and Kevin Samuel had 11 points and nine rebounds for the Jaguars.
Sherfield and teammate Jacob Groves knocked down 3-pointers 76 seconds apart to give the Sooners a 62-60 lead with 2:57 left.
The Jaguars seemed on the verge of tying the score when Owen White went up for a dunk, but Jacob Groves came from behind and blocked it with 16.8 seconds left.
Sherfield was fouled with 14.1 seconds to go and drained both free throws to seal it.
Oklahoma shot 43.6 percent from the field, including 3 of 17 (17.6 percent) from 3-point range. The Sooners held a 39-23 rebounding edge.
The Jaguars made 42.9 percent of their shots and were 5 of 18 (27.8 percent) from behind the arc.
Oklahoma took its first lead of the game at 34-33 on Jacob Groves’ layup with 17:43 left in the game.
South Alabama was up 39-38 after Moore’s 3-pointer before the Sooners went on an 8-2 run and took a five-point advantage on Sherfield’s layup with 13:59 remaining.
A short time later, Moore took over and scored 10 of the Jaguars’ next 12 points, including a fastbreak layup to tie it at 56 with 8:21 to play.
Jones and Moore followed with baskets to give South Alabama a 60-56 lead with 5:18 left. The Jaguars didn’t score again and missed their final six field-goal attempts.
Jones and Moore each scored 10 points in the first half to help the Jaguars hold a 33-30 lead.
South Alabama started fast and held a 13-4 edge after Moore’s basket with 14:56 left in the half. Oklahoma responded with a 10-2 run to move within one on two free throws by Sherfield with 10:12 left.
The Jaguars followed with a 16-5 surge. Greg Parham II sank a 3-pointer to cap it and made it 31-19 with 4:47 to play.
The Sooners answered with 11 straight points to creep within one before Jones made two free throws to end the first-half scoring.
–Field Level Media