What we learned Saturday in UC Bearcat basketball's Big 12 loss to No. 15 Oklahoma

In a rare Fifth Third Arena Saturday matinee, the Cincinnati Bearcats took on the fifth of a string of six straight Top 25 teams in No. 15 Oklahoma. Per usual, the Big 12 battle came down to the final possessions.

In front of a sellout crowd of 12,406 counting standing room, the Sooners held off UC 69-65 by making key free throws down the stretch. With six seconds remaining, Oklahoma coach Porter Moser's squad got four consecutive makes from Rivaldo Soares and Le'Tre Darthard, both bench players, to hold off the late-storming Bearcats.

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"Those were even bigger because they weren't two-shot bonuses," Moser said. "We went 4-for-4. We call them our second-shift guys. We come off the bench with guys that have started in other leagues. Aziz (Bandaogo) and Le'Tre were teammates at Utah Valley, Rivaldo Soares started at Oregon, John (Hugley) started at Pitt. Huge clutch free throws those two made down the stretch."

Oklahoma goes to 15-2 (3-2 Big 12) while UC falls to 13-5 (2-3 Big 12). The Bearcats have three Big 12 losses by a combined eight points.

Javian McCollum led the Sooners with 16 points while Otega Oweh had 14. Simas Lukošius led the Bearcats with 17 points, 13 coming in the first half. John Newman III was the only other Bearcat in double figures with 14 points.

UC got a lob to Aziz Bandaogo to cut the deficit to 67-65, but then Darthard was fouled and sank both free throws to make the lead insurmountable. The two-point deficit was as close as UC got after tying the game early in the second half.

"For some reason, we've had better attitude approach than we've had today," UC coach Wes Miller said. "We don't have time to dwell. This is this league, You've got to respond. You've got to figure out how to learn, grow and get ready for the next game. With the quick turnaround against the third-ranked team in the country (Kansas Monday night), we've got to do that quickly."

On the upside, Oklahoma's 69 points were their second-lowest total of the season. Their season-low was 66 vs. No. 3 Kansas Jan. 13.

Here are 5 reasons UC dropped a Big 12 home game vs. Oklahoma

1. Missed opportunities/free throws

At the first media timeout, just over four minutes into the game, the Bearcats had the lead and the Sooners hadn't scored. On the other hand, UC only had four points.

They would lead for over 13 minutes of the first half despite shooting 33%, including 23% on 3-pointers, where Lukošius was the only Bearcat to find the cylinder. From the free throw line, the Bearcats were 6-of-10 while Oklahoma made all nine.

Thus, what could have been a sizable lead was a tie game. It was the first game of the last six where the Bearcats didn't trail at halftime.

While they made 8-of-12 from the charity stripe in the second half, UC still finished 14-of-22 compared to Oklahoma's 16-of-18 in front of a raucous crowd.

"Nobody's trying to miss free throws," Newman, who was 2-for-2, said. "It's been a challenge for us recently."

2. Lukošius hot in 1st half, slowed in 2nd

Junior Lukošius kept the Bearcats in the game by going 3-for-7 from behind the arc early while the rest of team was 0-for-6. He was the game's top scorer at halftime with 13 points. However, he didn't hit another 3-pointer until 8:55 remained in the game, then made 1-of-2 free throws with 10 seconds left as UC trailed 65-63. He was just 1-for-5 after the break from the field.

3. Key Bearcats as cold as the weather

Newman scored all 14 of his points in the second half, but was scoreless in the first. It was a rough start for many. After scoring in double figures in five of his last six games, Dan Skillings Jr. was held to one free throw. Top scorer Viktor Lakhin scored just five, as did Bandaogo.

"It's a tough night for a lot of guys not to have a night," Miller said. "You've got to be a good enough team to do the little stuff to overcome it. I didn't think we did enough of that tonight."

4. Unproductive in the paint

Oklahoma was drubbed at Kansas 46-26 in the points in the paint category, while UC had hammered No. 19 TCU 50-30 last game. Saturday, the Sooners had the edge at 34-28 and UC lost the rebounding battle for a second straight game, 41-34.

Oklahoma's Moser was pleased with his troops.

"This is their first year in the Big 12, you'd think they've been there forever," Moser said. "You try to be relentless and go after them. You try to box them out. They keep coming. We couldn't be so lopsided with them having more possessions."

Said Miller, "They kicked our butts on the boards. I'm frustrated with that. That's something we should be doing to other people."

5. Deep bench doesn't deliver

UC has only trailed in bench points twice. Oddly, one was Tuesday's win over 19th-ranked TCU. Saturday's disappointment made it two straight as the Sooners prevailed 28-16. Jamille Reynolds had six quick points in the first half, but none in the second. Jizzle James was held to five and Skillings had just one point.

Next game

The Bearcats fly out Sunday afternoon for a Big Monday 9 p.m. tip in Lawrence against Bill Self's No. 3-ranked Kansas Jayhawks.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Big 12 Saturday: Takeaways from UC Bearcat basketball loss to Oklahoma