Oklahoma defeats Mason men's basketball in the BB&T Classic, 81-66

Mason men's basketball is 5-4 after losing to Oklahoma on Sunday in the BB&T Classic (photo by John Irwin).

The Mason men’s basketball team lost to Oklahoma at the Verizon Center on Sunday in the BB&T Classic, 81-66. Bryon Allen led the Patriots with 15 points, while Ryan Spangler, Cameron Clarke and Buddy Hield each posted a double-double for the Sooners in the game with a combined 33 rebounds and 47 total points.

The Patriots cut the Sooners lead to seven points, 38-31, as OU went 0-6 from the field to start the second half. Mason was unable to take advantage of the opportunity to narrow the margin, with a missed three-pointer by Allen and missed jumper by Johnny Williams followed by a turnover that led to a 13-4 run that had the score at 53-35 in OU’s favor.

“It was a little bit frustrating,” Allen said. “Because we were getting good shots, they just weren’t dropping.”

After trailing by 18 at the 12:04 mark, the Patriots cut the lead to 12 with three-pointers from Patrick Holloway and Corey Edwards that brought the score to 55-43. The Patriots would trail by as many as 21, but cut the lead back to 10 points at the 2:24 mark after Vaughn Gray hit a three-pointer that sparked a 7-0 run for the Patriots. Jordan Woodard hit a layup and the only three-pointer for the Sooners in the game to bring the final score to 81-66 and take home the win.

OU outscored Mason 50-20 in the paint, and out-rebounded the Patriots 51-29 in the game. The Patriots shot 30 percent on field goals, 25 percent from behind the arc and 75 percent from the free throw line.

“We got out played in a lot of ways, especially on the backboard,” head coach Paul Hewitt said. “They were just much more aggressive in the lane, and had 50 points in the paint to our 20. That’s pretty much the difference in the game.”

Mason (5-4) lacked the athleticism and size to keep up with OU (8-1) on the court, and was unable to match the Sooners’ quickness and aggressiveness getting to the ball.

The closest the Patriots came to the Sooners was within seven points in the second half, and trailed the Sooners the entire game after the first jumper was hit by Clarke for OU at the 19:41 mark in the first half. The Patriots were down by 10, 38-28, heading into the locker room at the half.

“They just wanted it more. You just saw their arms and hands up in the air, and they were quicker than we were and just off the ground quicker than we were,” Hewitt said. “But the biggest thing for me is to see them get 17 offensive rebounds and 50 points in the paint. That’s really disheartening to our team, but you know we’ll regroup. We’re nine games into a 30 game season.”