Hield's Career High Paces OU Past North Texas

Buddy Hield knew he was going to be counted on this season to handle a hefty portion of the Sooners' scoring responsibilities.

So far, so good for the sophomore from the Bahamas.

Hield dropped a career-high 23 points, including 3-of-4 from the 3-point line, to pace Oklahoma to a 95-82 victory against North Texas on Monday night in Norman.

Led by Hield, the Sooners relied heavily on 3-point shooting – 6-of-12 – in the first half to build a 10-point lead at the break, en route to the 13-point victory over the visiting Mean Green.

Hield's new career high just so happened to come after he set his then-career-high of 19 points in OU's season opening victory against Alabama on Friday.

Four other Sooners joined Hield in double figures, led by 12 from senior Tyler Neal off the bench on 5-of-9 shooting with eight rebounds.

Ryan Spangler, Cameron Clark and Je'lon Hornbeak all scored 11.

Spangler, fresh off his Big 12 newcomer of the week honors, was 4-of-5 from the floor and hauled in nine rebounds. He did struggle from the foul line, however, going just 3-for-9 from the charity stripe.

Overall, it was a successful shooting night for OU, as the Sooners shot 52.9 percent for the game and 44.4 percent from 3. OU did struggle from the foul line with a 15-for-24 mark, but six of those nine misses were attributed to Spangler.

Oklahoma (2-0) fell behind 8-4 in the early going, but went on an 8-0 run to take a 12-8 lead and never trailed again, using a 9-0 lead later in the opening half to create a sizeable cushion.

Alzee Williams led North Texas (1-1) with 24 points and six rebounds on 8-of-12 shooting. Chris Jones scored 16, while Keith Coleman added 14 for the Mean Green, who suffered their first loss of the season.

The Sooners won their 21st-consecutive home opener and now will prepare to host Idaho on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Lloyd Noble Center.