Oklahoma went 2-1 in the Bahamas over the Thanksgiving break with a 65-54 win over Dayton in the finale.
Christian James scored a game-high 21 points on 8-15 shooting from the floor. He was 50% from three-point shooting (4-8) and grabbed five boards while dishing out four assists.
Christian James was absolutely huge with a game-high 2⃣1⃣ points including this 8⃣-straight point stretch late. #Sooners pic.twitter.com/E170gVJyE4
— OUHoops (@ouhoops) November 23, 2018
The Sooners started on a 9-0 run before the Flyers finally got on the board. Oklahoma’s biggest lead in the first half came on a Miles Reynolds free throw that put them up 26-14.
Dayton closed the gap to 34-28 at the half and then took their first lead on a Jordan Davis layup at the 17:57 mark of the second half. Davis scored 12 points in the game becoming one of three Dayton players in double figures.
The Flyers built a 7-point lead while Oklahoma went scoreless for nearly the first four minutes of the second half. Jamuni McNeace’s layup, at the 16:12 mark, finally broke the Dayton zone defense and got the Sooners rolling again.
A pair of free throws from Reynolds tied the game at 43-43 and then Aaron Calixte put the Sooners back in front with a layup. OU wouldn’t relinquish the lead again as Reynolds scored 17 points off the bench and McNeace poured in 16 points, while also grabbing 8 rebounds, to round out Oklahoma’s top scorers.
OU moves to 5-1 on the season and will return home to play North Texas on Tuesday.