'We'll get better': Turnovers torment OU in loss to No. 5-ranked Baylor
NORMAN — The Sooners tried to chip away.
Oklahoma suffered a 65-51 loss to No. 5-ranked Baylor on Saturday, but not without giving the reigning national champions a late scare.
After trailing by as much as 15 points in the second half, OU trimmed the deficit to 51-44 with 5:39 remaining thanks to a layup by Umoja Gibson. The crowd at Lloyd Noble Center rose to its feet to cheer the Sooners on, but the celebration didn't last long.
Baylor's Matthew Mayer gathered a pass in the corner on the ensuing possession and went to work on Elijah Harkless as the shot clock winded down. With only a few seconds left, he launched a fadeaway 3-pointer that found the bottom of the net and silenced the crowd.
Mayer's miraculous shot ended all momentum for the Sooners (12-7, 2-5 Big 12), who have now lost four straight games.
Gibson finished with a team-high 13 points and three rebounds in the losing effort. Harkless tallied 12 points and three boards.
"There's definitely fight in this group," OU head coach Porter Moser said. "But there's also a big part of getting better and consistent... It starts with me. There's going to be no quit in this team. We'll fight. We're searching. We'll find it. We'll get better. "
Here are three takeaways from the contest:
'If it's a good shot, take it': How OU basketball struck gold with Duke transfer Jordan Goldwire
Turnovers torment the Sooners
Jordan Goldwire tried to make something happen.
OU trailed 7-0 with 15:25 left in the first half when the veteran point guard attempted to get past Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchuoa on the perimeter. The 6-foot-8 forward's wingspan is as long as his name, which prevented Goldwire from shaking free.
Goldwire looked for a kick-out option and saw Gibson and Bijan Cortes clumped together on the right wing. He delivered a pass in their general direction, but neither player attempted to catch the ball as it flew between them before landing out of bounds.
It was that kind of a start for the Sooners.
OU committed eight turnovers in the first four minutes and 48 seconds of the contest, and four of them came courtesy of Goldwire. The Sooners averaged a turnover every 36 seconds during that stretch.
OU finished the game with a season-high 25 turnovers, which Baylor converted into 35 points.
"You are not going to beat Baylor with 25 turnovers," Moser said. "You aren't going to beat a lot of teams with 25 turnovers... We've got to play with better poise with the ball in terms of turnovers."
OU men's basketball schedule: How to watch the Sooners in 2021-22 NCAA season
OU bench players shine in expanded roles
Marvin Johnson went left.
Mayer went right.
OU held a 21-17 lead with 4:33 left until halftime when Johnson gathered the ball on the perimeter and rocked Mayer to sleep with a series of dribble moves. He then lost the Baylor forward with a swift crossover before dusting him for an easy layup.
Johnson finished the contest with four points and two boards in a season-high nine minutes. The increased playing time is a result of the injury to fellow guard C.J. Noland, who didn't suit up after entering concussion protocol during OU's game against Kansas on Tuesday.
Johnson averaged 15.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.9 steals per game last season as the star player at Eastern Illinois. The 6-foot-5 guard is only averaging 4.5 minutes per contest this season, but Saturday's showing is an example of the talent on OU's bench.
Another example is Akol Mawein.
The 6-foot-8 junior is capitalizing on the absence of fellow forward Ethan Chargois, who has missed three straight games due to undisclosed reasons. Mawein tallied six points and four boards in 13 minutes against Baylor while recording a team-high plus/minus of six.
"We're just those guys that are battling with the starters every day in practice," Mawein said of him and Johnson. "Marvin had the same mindset as me, which was to just get out there and do what we can in our power to help the team win."
Mawein played at Navarro College last season, where he averaged 12.5 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. He was ranked by 247 Sports as the nation's top JUCO power forward before joining the Sooners, although he is only averaging 5.8 minutes per contest this season.
OU undoubtedly misses the production of Chargois and Noland off the bench, but their absence has given other backups a chance to find their rhythm in the meantime.
More: How Regina Tisdale dealt with the grief of husband Wayman's death, and why she wrote a book about it
Tanner Groves snaps slump in second half
Tanner Groves woke up.
The 6-foot-10 center entered Saturday's contest averaging a team-high 12.8 points per game, but he was a non-factor in the first half. Groves went scoreless without attempting a shot in 11 minutes, and OU trailed 25-21 at the break as a result.
Groves came alive in the second half, though.
The Eastern Washington transfer erupted for 11 points in the final 20 minutes, and his biggest bucket came with 7:44 left in the game. Gibson fought his way into the lane before kicking it out to Groves, who cashed in on an open 3-pointer to trim the deficit to 45-40.
Baylor weathered the storm and emerged with a victory, but the second-half play of Groves is an encouraging sight.
The past few games have been rough for the senior from Spokane, Washington. Groves entered Tuesday averaging 5.7 points on 33.3 percent shooting from the floor throughout OU's last three contests.
Justin Martinez can be reached at jmartinez@oklahoman.com or @JTheSportsDude on Twitter. Make sure to subscribe to The Oklahoman to stay up to date with all local sports.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU vs. Baylor men's basketball: Three takeaways from the Sooners' loss
