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  • No. 15 Texas Tops OU to Continue a Downward Slide for the No. 16 Sooners

No. 15 Texas Tops OU to Continue a Downward Slide for the No. 16 Sooners

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Basketball

Senior forward Jericho Sims registered 16 points and 12 rebounds to lead No. 15/16 Texas (16-7, 10-6 Big 12) to a 69-65 win at No. 16/15 Oklahoma (14-9, 9-8 Big 12) on Thursday night at the Lloyd Noble Center. With the victory, the Longhorns secured a first-round bye in next week's Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship.

Sims tied his season highs in points and rebounds while hitting 8-of-10 field goals and adding two blocked shots in 33 minutes. Junior guard Andrew Jones tallied 16 points while converting 5-of-8 field goals, including 2-of-2 threes, and 4-of-4 free throws in 36 minutes. Junior guard Courtney Ramey posted 11 points while hitting 3-of-4 threes and registered a season-best nine rebounds in 36 minutes, and senior guard Jase Febres recorded a season-high 11 points in 18 minutes.

Defense proved to be the difference, as UT limited the Sooners to 65 points on 37.3-percent field goal shooting (22-59), including a 28.0-percent mark (7-25) from three-point range.

Leading 28-26 following an Elijah Harkless layup at the 8:11 mark, the Longhorns used a 16-5 run over the next seven minutes to build a 44-31 advantage after an Andrew Jones three-pointer with 1:17 remaining. Austin Reaves banked in a deep three at the buzzer to trim the margin to 44-34 at the break. Texas converted 60.7-percent (17-28) from the floor, including a 5-of-9 (.556) mark from three-point range, in the opening 20 minutes.

After a pair of free throws from Andrew Jones gave the Longhorns a 53-46 advantage at the 12:23 mark, the Sooners ran off eight straight points to take a 54-53 lead following a De'Vion Harmon dunk with 7:56 left. Ramey responded with back-to-back three-pointers to give Texas a 59-54 cushion at the 5:50 mark.

Oklahoma trimmed the deficit to two points on four occasions down the stretch, the last coming after an Austin Reaves layup to pull within 67-65 with 6.9 seconds left. Freshman forward Greg Brown converted a pair of free throws in a 1-and-1 pressure situation with 4.9 seconds remaining to seal the victory.

The Longhorns conclude the regular season when they travel to face TCU on Sunday, March 7. Tip is set for 6 p.m. CT at Schollmaier Arena, and the game will be streamed nationally by Big 12 Now/ESPN+.