Fears scores 18 as No. 21 Oklahoma beats Georgia Tech 76-61 in SEC/ACC Challenge

NORMAN, Okla. — Jeremiah Fears scored 18 points to lead No. 21 Oklahoma past Georgia Tech 76-61 in the SEC/ACC Challenge on Tuesday night.

Jalon Moore had 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Sooners (8-0), and Kobe Elvis scored 12. It was Oklahoma’s first game since pushing its way into the AP Top 25 rankings by defeating Providence, Arizona and Louisville to win the Battle 4 Atlantis last week.

Jaeden Mustaf scored 16 points, Lance Terry had 14 and Duncan Powell added 11 points and 12 rebounds for Georgia Tech (4-4). Baye Ndongo, the No. 2 scorer and top rebounder for the Yellow Jackets this season, finished with four points and four rebounds in only 14 minutes because of foul trouble.

Georgia Tech jumped out to a 17-6 lead before the Sooners chipped away and trimmed their deficit to 34-30 at halftime.

Oklahoma took its first lead since the opening minute on a 3-pointer by Duke Mikes about three minutes into the second half that put the Sooners up 37-34. A 3-pointer by Elvis put Oklahoma ahead 51-41 with about 11 minutes remaining.

Takeaways

Georgia Tech: The Sooners outscored the Yellow Jackets 26-12 at the free-throw line in a game that was relatively even otherwise.

Oklahoma: Eight Sooners played at least 19 minutes, and five scored in double figures.

Key moment

Fears made a short jumper and was fouled by Ndongo with 15:26 remaining. It was Ndongo’s fourth foul, and Fears made the free throw to put the Sooners up 42-36.

Key stat

Georgia Tech’s first field goal in the second half came with 12:23 remaining. The Yellow Jackets missed their first eight shots after the break.

Up next

The Yellow Jackets visit North Carolina on Saturday. The Sooners host Alcorn State at McCasland Field House on Saturday.