Reaves Lifts No. 12 Oklahoma Over No. 14 WVU 91-90 In 2 OT

Austin Reaves scored four of his 28 points in the final minute of the second overtime and No. 12 Oklahoma held off No. 14 West Virginia 91-90 on Saturday.

Umoja Gibson added 21 for the Sooners (13-5, 8-4 Big 12), who had relinquished a nine-point lead in regulation.

Derek Culver had his 10th double-double of the season with a career-high 29 points and 14 rebounds for the Mountaineers (14-6, 7-4). Sean McNeil added 21 points, all after halftime, and Miles McBride scored 19.

Culver scored seven points in the second overtime to put West Virginia ahead 88-85 with 2:12 left. De’Vion Harmon’s layup and two free throws by Reaves gave the Sooners the lead before McBride’s layup with 41 seconds left put the Mountaineers ahead 90-89.

Reaves capped the scoring with a floater in the lane over McBride with 27 seconds left. But there was plenty of drama left.

Culver’s layup attempt with 7 seconds left was blocked by Oklahoma’s Kur Kuath and the ball went out of bounds back to the Sooners. West Virginia got it right back on a tie-up during the ensuing inbounds pass.

After the ball went out of bounds again and West Virginia kept possession, McBride lofted a pass underneath the basket to Culver. But both Culver and Jalen Bridges missed rushed shots in a crowd as time ran out.

Harmon added 13 points for Oklahoma. Elijah Harkless scored 12 and Brady Manek had 11.

BIG PICTURE

Oklahoma: The Sooners have won seven of their last eight games, including five against ranked opponents.

West Virginia: Since big man Oscar Tshiebwe left the team on Jan. 1, the Mountaineers have gone 6-4, but they still hold hopes of maintaining a high seed in the NCAA Tournament.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Oklahoma could climb back into the top 10 of the AP Top 25 poll. West Virginia, which beat No. 7 Texas Tech on Tuesday, shouldn’t see much of a drop.

UP NEXT

Oklahoma hosts No. 13 Texas on Tuesday.

West Virginia plays at Texas on Feb. 20. The Mountaineers have won four straight conference road games. Games next Monday and Thursday against No. 2 Baylor were postponed because of COVID-19 issues with the Bears.