No. 19 Oklahoma pulls away in 2nd half to beat Providence

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Javian McCollum scored 19 points and Milos Uzan added 17 points and 12 rebounds as No. 19 Oklahoma limited Providence to 20 second-half points in a 72-51 win on Tuesday night.

The Sooners (8-0) scored 40 points in the paint, forced 15 turnovers and out-rebounded the Friars 40-23.

McCollum scored 13 in the first half to lift the Sooners to a 35-31 halftime lead over the Friars (7-2). Providence pulled ahead 41-40 early in the second half before the Sooners outscored the Friars 32-10 over the next 14 minutes.

Devin Carter scored 17 points and Josh Oduro added 15 for Providence, which shot 40% from the field for the game and 33% after halftime, connecting on 9-of-27 shots.

Oklahoma scored the game’s first 12 points but the Friars cut the lead to 12-11 on three 3-point shots and a pair of free throws by Carter, who led Providence with 13 points in the first half.

The Sooners, behind two 3-pointers from McCollum, went on an 8-0 run to extend the lead to 20-11.

Bryce Hopkins, the Friars’ leading scorer, got into the act with a contested layup and a dunk to pull Providence within 23-18 with 7:22 left. Hopkins finished with eight points.

Carter also showed his defensive ability, blocking a layup attempt and a 3-point shot attempt on successive Oklahoma possessions.

The Sooners climbed six spots to No. 19 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 after defeating Arkansas-Pine Bluff last week in front of a record number of students inside McCasland Field House.

Coach Porter Moser called on the students to return to Lloyd Noble Center, a larger venue, for Tuesday's game.

Oklahoma had lost four previous Big East-Big 12 Battle games prior to Tuesday night’s contest.

UP NEXT

Oklahoma: Plays Arkansas in the Crimson and Cardinal Classic in Tulsa at 3 p.m. Saturday.

Providence: Hosts Brown at 11 p.m. Sunday.

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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball