HONOLULU (AP) — Buddy Hield scored 34 points and Jordan Woodward had 28 — both career highs — to help No. 3 Oklahoma beat Harvard 83-71 on Friday night in the Diamond Head Classic title game.
Hield was 11 of 14 from the field and 9 of 10 from the free-throw line, and Woodward was 9 of 13 from the field and 6 of 7 from the line.
The Sooners (11-0) shot 50 percent from the field (27 of 54) and made nine 3-pointers. Woodward was 4 of 7 from beyond the arc, and Hield 3 of 5. Ryan Spangler had 15 rebounds and eight points.
Zena Edosomwan scored a career-high 25 points on 10-of-20 shooting and had 16 rebounds for Harvard (5-7). The Crimson had won three straight.
Down 37-35 at halftime, Oklahoma opened the second half with a 17-0 run.
Spangler hit consecutive 3-pointers in the early second-half run. Woodward made consecutive 3s with about 15 minutes left to stretch the lead to 58-39, capping a 23-2 run.
Oklahoma took its largest lead at 62-42 with 13:25 remaining on Hield’s reverse layup in transition.
However, Harvard made a run of its own. Edosomwan’s basket after a spin move started a 12-0 run that was capped by Edosomwan’s three-point play that made it 62-54 with 8:16 left.
Edosomwan scored seven straight Harvard points to cut it to 70-65 at the 4:27 mark, but Oklahoma closed with a 13-6 run.
It was the first meeting between the teams, but not the first between the two coaches. Harvard’s Tommy Amaker and Oklahoma’s Lon Kruger faced off on Dec. 5, 1999, when Kruger’s Illinois squad beat Amaker’s Seton Hall team 71-61.
TIP INS
Harvard: The Crimson have played against three teams currently ranked in the Top 10, losing all three. They dropped a 76-64 decision at Providence on Nov. 14, and lost 75-69 at Kansas on Dec. 5.
Oklahoma: Senior guard Isaiah Cousins eclipsed the 1,000-point mark in his career Friday. Cousins reached the milestone with a free throw in the final minute and finished with seven points, six rebounds, four assists and a steal in 36 minutes. He’s the 42nd player in school history to reach 1,000 points.
UP NEXT
Harvard will host Wofford on Thursday.
Oklahoma hosts No. 11 Iowa State on Jan. 2.
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