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    Oklahoma Basketball: Sooners Take Care of Central Arkansas For 11th Win

    Oklahoma bounced back from the loss in Charlotte with a solid win over Central Arkansas.

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    Oklahoma Sooners
    Oklahoma Sooners

    North Carolina got the best of No. 12 Oklahoma in Charlotte, but the Sooners had the perfect chance to respond at home on Thursday. Respond they did, pulling away from Central Arkansas (3-11) 88-72, improving to an impressive 11-1 on the season.

    The Sooners were led by Javian McCollum, who poured in 23 points on 9-of-17 shooting and 5-of-9 from 3-point range. Otega Oweh provided his usual efficient scoring, adding 16 points on 6-of-10. Sam Godwin and Jalon Moore were big in the front court, combining for 26 points and 16 rebounds.

    It was an emotional week for the Oklahoma basketball program, as they said goodbye to a legend in Ryan Minor. Minor passed away last Friday afternoon after a battle with colon cancer. The Sooners honored his legacy left behind on Thursday, as the entire team along with Porter Moser wore white warmup shirts with Minor's name and number on the back, along with "Forever a Sooner" written across the front.

    Before the game tipped off, the Lloyd Noble Center had a 12-second moment of silence. It was a powerful pregame scene in honor of Minor.

    When the game eventually tipped off, the Sooners started off slow, looking lethargic on the defensive end. Central Arkansas was able to pick and choose its shots. Oklahoma's athleticism couldn't clamp the scrappy Bear bunch early on, but the offense was scoring enough points that it didn't truly matter.

    With 8:42 left in the first half, the Sooners trailed 28-26. Oklahoma’s intensity seemed to be lacking, and Moser let the team know during the timeout break. From there, the Sooners went on a strong mini-run, but the defense didn’t quite pick up.

    Oklahoma closed the half on a 24-14 run, and most of that was sparked by McCollum. The point guard was busy throughout the entire half, drilling four 3-pointers and pouring in 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting.

    Out of the break, the Bears went on an 11-6 run to cut Oklahoma’s lead to just three. The Sooners needed a spark in a bad way.

    Moser’s squad responded with a quick 9-0 run out of the timeout to take a 65-53 lead with 12:39 left in the game.

    From there, the Sooners coasted, but the team was still never able to pull away and dominate. The double digit win wasn’t quite what Oklahoma had in mind, but a win is a win during this upset era of college basketball.

    Despite the open shots allowed, the Sooners still forced 17 total turnovers which allowed them to keep Central Arkansas at an arms length. Oklahoma took care of the ball at a premium, only logging nine turnovers.

    Next up, Oklahoma will take on 7-5 Monmouth on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m.

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