'A bunch of bad possessions': Three things we learned about the Sooners in Bedlam loss at OSU

STILLWATER — Moussa Cisse went up and got it.

Oklahoma suffered a 64-55 rivalry loss to Oklahoma State on Saturday, and the dagger came courtesy of the Cowboys' big man.

Oklahoma State held a 54-48 lead with 1:42 left in the game when Cissee rolled to the rim and called for a lob. Isaac Likekele obliged by zipping the ball through the air, but the pass sailed slightly to the right.

That wasn't a problem for Cisse, though. The 7-foot center secured the ball and laid it in while still in the air despite being fouled for an and-one bucket that sank the Sooners' hopes of a Bedlam win.

Tanner Groves led OU (13-10, 3-7 Big 12) with game-highs of 23 points and nine rebounds in the loss. Elijah Harkless tallied 15 points, five steals and eight turnovers.

"We just struggled offensively at times," OU head coach Porter Moser said. "I thought we rebounded well enough to win. I thought we played hard enough to win... We had a bunch of bad possessions, either turnovers, missed shots or trying to do too much.

"I’ve got to start with me. We’ve got to continue to clear it up."

Here are three things we learned about the Sooners:

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Bryce Thompson did it again.

The Oklahoma State guard got caught snoozing during OU's first offensive possession, which left Harkless open for a 3-pointer in the corner that he drained. Harkless then gave his defender a bigger wakeup call the following time down the court.

Thompson once again sagged off Harkless on the 3-point line, and Jordan Goldwire found Harkless in the same corner for another deep bomb that he drilled.

Harkless finished with 15 points in his return to the starting lineup after getting benched in favor of Jacob Groves four games ago.

The move came at a time when Harkless was struggling to score efficiently. In the four games leading up to his benching, the senior guard averaged 5.5 points on 28.9-percent shooting from the floor in 32.5 minutes.

Jacob was trending in the opposite direction. During that same four-game stretch, the junior forward averaged 6.3 points on 50-percent shooting from the floor in just 15.8 minutes.

Harkless reasserted his dominance against TCU on Wednesday by erupting for 13 points off the bench, which helped him return to the starting lineup.

Harkless committed eight turnovers on Saturday, but that got overshadowed by his scoring. It's something that's at a premium for an OU offense that has struggled with consistency, meaning Harkless' spot is likely safe if he keeps putting the ball through the rim.

"I know he had eight turnovers, but he was just trying to do so much," Moser said of Harkless. "He wants to win. He wants to compete... He was in a good space offensively."

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Tanner Groves kept working.

OU trailed 9-6 with 16:46 left in the first half when the senior center began to back down Cisse. Tanner turned around and hit Cisse with a pump fake, but the sophomore defender didn't bite.

Tanner was backed up against a wall, but he had a backup plan.

The crafty center pivoted around Cisse and sank a reverse layup for the first of many buckets on Saturday. He finished with a game-high 23 points on 10-for-17 shooting from the floor and 2-for-4 shooting from deep.

Big 12 play has presented some problems for Tanner, who continues to adjust to the physicality and athleticism that he didn't see much of during his time at Eastern Washington.

But Tanner kept working.

The big man made strides against an Oklahoma State team with plenty of athleticism and size, making the performance something he can build off of moving forward.

"I think that if we want to win games I have to continue to be solid," Tanner said. "I know my teammates believe in me. That's why they're feeding me the ball. I think that we'll be fine."

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Jalen Hill thought he had his man beat.

OU trailed 47-42 with 6:20 left in the game when Harkless got a steal that launched a fastbreak. He fed the ball to Hill, who only had Tyreek Smith standing between him and the rim.

Hill euro stepped his way into the lane before going up for a layup, but the fancy move didn't fool Smith. The 6-foot-7 Cowboy swatted the ball off the backboard for an emphatic block that sent the home crowd into a frenzy.

It was that kind of a day for OU's supporting cast, which struggled to put the ball through the hoop.

Harkless and Tanner combined for 38 of the Sooners' 55 points (69.09%). Goldwire was the next-highest scorer with five points.

The last time an OU duo combined for a higher percentage was on Jan. 20, 2018, when Trae Young (48 points) and Brady Manek (eight points) combined for 69.1 of the team's points in an 83-81 loss to Oklahoma State.

"Disappointed," Moser said. "I mean like, we need (help scoring). We need it... When they're sagging off two or three guys, the lane is packed and we've got to free it out and kick it and knock a couple of shots down.

"A couple of our guys have got to knock down some shots or teams are just going to be packing it in."

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. Oklahoma State men's basketball: Takeaways from Sooners' loss