Andrew Jones’ last-second three lifts Texas over Oklahoma 84-83

Sometimes, you just need the basketball gods to answer a prayer. Andrew Jones got exactly that Monday night as his last-second three-pointer sunk the Sooners 84-83.

In a game headlined by runs, responses and career-highs, what initially appeared to be an all-too-familiar outcome in Austin saw Texas spark the final, and most pivotal run of the game.

Trailing 83-78 down the stretch, Eric Davis Jr. capped what became an impressive and confidence-boosting night with a deep three with 11.5 ticks remaining. Following a pair of Kameron McGusty missed free throws to potentially seal the Sooner victory, Jones’ continually-growing confidence was as apparent as ever, as his three-pointer with 1.8 seconds to play snapped a five-game Longhorns losing streak.

With 9:13 left to play, courtesy of a 10-1 run to open the second half, Texas held a 66-56 edge and looked to be on its way to comfortably cruising to a victory over Oklahoma. But just as a first half of runs indicated, more would come and the Sooners eventually clawed back to tie the game with 78-78 with 1:15 to play.

A Rashard Odomes steal and slam gave Oklahoma a narrow 80-78 cushion with under a minute remaining and following a pair of Kerwin Roach Jr. contested and missed attempts at the rim, it appeared the bleeding would continue for the young ‘Horns.

Courtesy of Davis’ confidence and Jones miraculous heave, Texas pulled off a momentum building victory with a very manageable portion of the schedule coming up.

Aside from Jones’ 16 points, Shaquille Cleare led the way with a career-high 23 points and eight boards. Jarrett Allen recorded yet another double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds, and the pair of big men collectively snagged 10 offensive rebounds; five each. Davis 18 points behind five three-pointers was a season high for a shooter that lacked confidence after entering the game connecting on just 23 percent of his looks from deep. Roach also joined in double figures with 11 points and eight assists, with just two turnovers.

For the Sooners, freshman power forward Kristian Doolittle became Kristian Doo-it-all against Texas and racked up a career-high 29 points after entering the game averaging just 7.8. Doolittle also snagged 10 rebounds. McGusty, a fellow freshman, added 21 points of his own, but the remainder of the team scored just 33 points.

With the win over Oklahoma, Texas moves to 8-12 on the season and 2-6 in Big 12 play.

Next up, Texas takes to the road for a Big 12-SEC Challenge meeting with the 12-7 Georgia Bulldogs.