Sooner Basketball Wins Battle 4 Atlantis Championship
OU DAILY - Oklahoma (7-0) won three games in three days to take home the Battle 4 Atlantis Championship, taking the final game against Louisville (5-2) 69-64 on Friday.
The Sooners opened the tournament with a 79-77 win over Providence (5-2) and followed that up with an 82-77 upset victory over No. 24 Arizona (3-3).
The sweep also marked the fourth-straight multiteam event championship for head coach Porter Moser and OU, with previous victories at the Rady Children’s Invitational in 2023, the ESPN Events Invitational in 2022 and the Myrtle Beach Invitational in 2021.
Oklahoma 79, Providence 77
This was Kobe Elvis and Jeremiah Fears’ game.
In a contest where the Sooners struggled to generate offense throughout, especially in the first half, the guard combo rose to the occasion.
Elvis finished with 26 points on 10 of 14 shooting. Fears finished with 20 points on 4 of 8 shooting. Sophomore forward Luke Northweather followed behind with eight points on 3 of 6 shooting.
OU struggled from the field in the first half, going 12 of 27 from the floor and 2 of 10 from the threepoint line, only managing 32 points. The second half proved to be more efficient, as OU went 13 of 22, and was 5 of 9 from beyond the arc, putting up 47 points.
“There’s a million ways to win a basketball game,” head coach Porter Moser said. “Our guys kept battling and fighting and found a way to win.”
The Sooners faced adversity, trailing by two heading into the locker room at halftime and then falling behind by as many as five points early in the second half. However, the momentum changed following a 13-3 OU run in the second half, which was led by an Elvis threepointer and back-to-back threes by Northweather to give Oklahoma a 49-44 lead.
“Games like these teach us how to handle adversity and still come out on top,” Elvis said following the game. “That is huge for us moving forward heading into the remainder of our schedule.”
Foul trouble throughout the contest led to adversity for both teams. Forty-one total fouls were called between both teams. Fears fouled out, and senior forward Sam Godwin and senior guard Brycen Goodine both played with four fouls for the final 10 minutes of the game.
Oklahoma 82, No. 24 Arizona 77
Jeremiah Fears stole the show again in game two as he led the Sooners to an upset win over Arizona on Thanksgiving day.
The freshman guard backed up his 20 points against Providence with 26 points against the Wildcats on 7 of 17 shooting, going 4 of 7 from the three-point line. Fears’ 26 points was the highest total among OU players.
Senior forward Jalon Moore was the second-leading scorer for the Sooners with 24 points on 7 of 15 shooting. Moore bounced back against the Wildcats after a quiet sixpoint performance against Providence.
Moore’s 24 points marked the fourth game this season that the forward has scored 20 or more points.
OU got off to another slow start offensively, shooting 39% from the field and 26.7% from the three-point line in the first half for a total of 36 points. However, the offense warmed up in the second half shooting 46.7% putting up 46 points in the second half to finish off the Wildcats.
Senior guard Duke Miles scored 11 points after halftime after scoring zero in the first. Miles’ 11 points tied Moore for second- most in the half, with Fears scoring 16 to lead the way. Sophomore forward Luke Northweather added 10 points on 3 of 5 shooting to follow up his eight-point performance against Providence.
Oklahoma 69, Louisville 64
Oklahoma’s leader Jalon Moore stepped up when his team needed it most.
The senior forward put up 24 points for the second straight game on 7 of 13 shooting to go along with seven rebounds. Moore set the pace for the Sooners in the first half by scoring 15 points before bringing home nine points in the second to finish with 24.
Senior guard Glenn Taylor Jr. finished with 12 points on 4 of 6 shooting and freshman guard Jeremiah Fears added 10 points on 3 of 8 shooting. Fears also dished out four assists while Taylor Jr. pulled in three boards.
The Sooners defense forced 14 total turnovers and cashed those in for 15 points. Nine of those 14 turnovers were forced steals. Fears led the way with three.
Much like they did against No. 24 Arizona, the Sooners jumped out to a seven-point lead at halftime after shooting 50% from the three-point line on 7 of 17 shooting. Then, sloppy play out of the gates in the second half caused the OU lead to dwindle, and the game was tied once again with 5:00 minutes to go at 58-58. Taylor Jr. then scored six consecutive points over the next three and a half minutes to put the Sooners ahead for good and secure the victory.
“It was a dog fight out there,” head coach Porter Moser said after the game. “I’m incredibly proud of the way that our guys stood in there and fought and came away with that victory.”
Three games in three days is tough, but the Sooners were able to find resiliency and stick together even as Louisville made a late charge to tie the game.
“It was all about coming together and fighting for each other,” Moore said. “I want to go out there and give it everything I have for this team and for each one of these guys, and I know they all feel the same way.
“We were just able to stick together and fight together and come out on top.”
Now 7-0, the Sooners will look to carry this momentum with them back to Norman as they look to finish out their non-conference slate.
Next, the Sooners are back at home to take on Georgia Tech (3-3) in the SEC/ACC challenge at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 3 at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman.