Jan. 21—It was, again, another close game for Oklahoma.

Though this time, it appeared the Sooners would break through their lategame issues.

Trailing by two points with just over two minutes to go, Jalen Hill snagged a critical offensive rebound and paid it off with a basket. On the other end, the Sooners secured a defensive stop and rebound against Baylor, which led to a fast break alley-oop layup from Milos Uzan to CJ Noland.

That gave the Sooners a 58-56 lead with 1:40 to go, inching their way closer to a win over a ranked opponent.

But Baylor’s Jalen Bridges hit a corner 3 on the ensuing possession, giving the Bears back the lead. OU’s Grant Sherfield missed on a layup, and the Bears snagged the rebound.

But the ultimate gut punch came with 22 seconds to go, as Baylor’s Adam Flaggler nailed a contested 3 as the shot clock expired to seal the No. 21-ranked Bears’ 62-60 win over the Sooners on Saturday at Lloyd Noble Center.

“We feel gutted,” Moser said about the Sooners’ fourth Big 12 loss by four points or less. “We’ve got to turn it around and keep trying to get these guys up.”

Though it was another close loss for the Sooners, that wasn’t the story for Moser. The takeaway was how the Bears hung around long enough to steal a victory. Rebounding.

The Sooners played good defense against the Bears — who came into the game averaging 80.3 points per game, the second-highest mark in the Big 12 — holding them to 36 percent shooting from the floor. The problem was the rebounding advantage, as the Bears snagged 39 to the Sooners’ 30.

17 of their boards came on the offensive end, with 11 coming in the second half. Those offensive rebounds led to 30 second-chance points, which accounted for nearly half of the Bears’ offensive output. For comparison, the Sooners scored 12 second-chance points off of nine offensive rebounds.

“That was the storyline,” Moser said. “I mean, in a one possession game, they had 30 second chance points... I thought we did some really good things defensively against one of the top offensive teams. and we see time and time again, we couldn’t block out. We couldn’t get the rebound. And I thought Tanner (Groves) and Jalen (Hill) played like warriors. and they needed some help on the glass and we just didn’t get it anywhere. That was really the storyline.

“To get outrebounded by that significance in a one-possession game... You’ve got to fight, claw, whatever you can. Guards got to come down and help. It’s got to be five people on the glass.”

That’s been a problem for the Sooners this season. They entered the game eighth in the conference in total rebounding and dead last on the offensive glass, and they struggled against a Baylor team that has logged the second most offensive rebounds in the Big 12.

The rebounds overshadowed several things the Sooners did well. They received good outings from Hill (17 points, nine rebounds) and Groves (16 points, nine rebounds), as the team shot 46 percent from the field. Freshman guard Otega Oweh (six points, five steals) gave the team a first-half boost, helping give the Sooners 30-26 halftime lead.

“Man, he works his tail off,” Moser said of Oweh. “Usually the basketball gods reward guys that work this hard and keep their mind right. But that’s what he brings us: athleticism and defense.”

But the Sooners again struggled with turnovers, committing 15 giveaways to Baylor’s nine. Leading scorer Grant Sherfield (eight points, 3-of-10 shooting) was also held scoreless in the second half for the second straight game. The Bears also attempted 17 free throws, making 13, while the Sooners went 3-of-4 from the charity stripe.

The loss marks the Sooners’ (11-8, 2-5 Big 12) second Big 12 loss in a row as they struggle to stay ahead in the Big 12 standings. But for Moser, the team simply has to learn to close out big games.

“You’ve gotta keep finding ways to try to get better,” Moser said. “... We’ve just got to keep getting better and finding ways to win these. I mean, that’s three top 20 teams we’ve had in this building and lost on one possession. So if you’re getting drilled by like 25, I think you’re thinking [of making] more drastic change. What we’ve got to do there is keep pushing to get over the hump. To make winning plays.”

Up next: The Sooners travel to take on TCU at 7 p.m. Tuesday.