How did Javian McCollum win Bedlam for OU? With 'patented move' his old coach saw coming

STILLWATER — Carmen Maciariello was seated on Siena’s bus en route to his team’s shootaround in Fairfield, Connecticut, glued to the screen Saturday.

The Saints’ basketball coach watched as his former pupil — Javian McCollum — knocked down the biggest shot of his career, a stepback 3 Maciariello has seen countless times.

“The stepback going to his left,” Maciariello told The Oklahoman on Saturday night. “His patented move.”

During his timeout with 30 seconds remaining in overtime, OU coach Porter Moser drew up a play where if Oklahoma State came out to guard his team in man, McCollum was receiving the ball. He had seen a play earlier in the game where McCollum drove to the rim against a man defense and got fouled and the Sooners were trying to emulate that.

When OSU’s Jamyron Keller cut off McCollum’s downhill drive and the junior guard was forced to improvise, he went to his go-to shot he works on in practice — the stepback. McCollum’s shot swished simultaneous with the buzzer, lifting OU to a much-needed 84-82 victory over Oklahoma State in the final Bedlam for the conference foes.

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The crowd of 11,370 at Gallagher-Iba Arena Saturday was raucous throughout the game but was left silenced by McCollum’s shot which will surely go down as one of the most memorable moments of Bedlam basketball in the Big 12 era.

“The feeling was great,” McCollum said postgame, “just to know that my teammates and my coaches trust me in that moment.”

McCollum, who made the decision to transfer from Siena to OU (19-8, 7-7 Big 12) during the offseason, is no stranger to having the ball in his hands in clutch moments.

“I thought it obviously was a big-time shot especially in that battle for Bedlam, right,” Maciariello said. “Going left, he started going and I thought actually he was going to get stuck. … I wish he was still playing for me because I gave him the ball a lot in the final moments and he got to learn some tough lessons where now he's making the most of all that and he grew from those moments that he had here at Siena, so I'm really happy for him.”

Despite McCollum’s recent struggles shooting the basketball — including a 7 for 33 stretch over his last six games — Moser never lost confidence in him. Each time he’d miss, like the go-ahead layup with 16 seconds left in regulation, Moser kept drawing up plays for him and told him to keep shooting.

McCollum started 1 for 7 from the field but finished with 14 points on 5-for-16 shooting, including two made 3s.

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“He took some really good ones in the first half, he just missed,” Moser said. “I think he missed his first five. I just kept on telling him to keep shooting. I took him out. … I put my arms around him and I said, ‘Hey, you're gonna come in and keep playing. You're gonna keep making big plays. Total confidence in him.”

Not long ago, Maciariello was the coach telling McCollum to keep shooting and he’s seen firsthand how he can shoot himself out of a slump.

“The only way out of a slump is to shoot your way out,” Maciariello said. “So you can't feel sorry for yourself and you’ve got to keep working and eventually the numbers are going to even out because he can shoot the basketball and he's that talented and skilled and obviously, what makes really good players really good players is their belief in themselves and their confidence. So I'm glad his confidence has never wavered.

“It never wavered.”

Senior guard Rivaldo Soares, who missed the Sooners’ loss to Kansas last Saturday due to an ankle injury, returned and scored 20 points in 29 minutes off the bench. Soares’ return was a boost as he’s been one of OU’s most consistent players the last month.

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Sophomore guards Otega Oweh and Milos Uzan were also impressive, finishing with 16 and 14 points, respectively. Junior Jalon Moore also stepped his play and dropped 11 points and grabbed 14 rebounds.

OSU (12-15, 4-10) was impressive all afternoon and junior guard Javon Small and sophomore guard Quion Williams led the Cowboys with 21 points apiece. Freshman forward Eric Dailey Jr. added 20 points, a career-high, on 8-for-10 shooting with eight rebounds.

Battling for an overtime conference road win is a huge momentum swing for Moser’s Sooners — which have been learning how to win as a group this season — as they try to solidify their NCAA Tournament bid with four games remaining. While OU will celebrate Saturday's win, it has a tough test waiting with No. 6 Iowa State (21-6, 10-4) at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa.

“There were certain timeouts,” Moser said, “we were down four or six and we just were talking about keep fighting. All we’ve got to do is be up at the end. … But I can't say the word resiliency enough.”

McCollum’s shot gives OU bragging rights over its in-state rival until the two programs meet again, which Moser is adamant will happen sometime in the future despite the Sooners’ departure to the SEC.

“I thought Oklahoma State played unbelievable,” Moser said. “So many big shots by both teams. I thought the atmosphere was elite. And I give credit to Oklahoma State and their fans to make that a great rivalry.”

Following McCollum’s buzzer beater, Soares stood at half court and waved his hand goodbye. The celebratory salutation was a farewell to Cowboys fans but also to Bedlam, until the two sides meet again.

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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU basketball beats OSU in epic final Bedlam on Javian McCollum shot