Dec. 31—Grant Sherfield’s layup gave Oklahoma a threepoint lead with 2:31 to go.

After that, the Sooners struggled to execute.

Jacob Groves fouled Sir’jabari Rice on a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession, and Rice made all three to tie the game at 60-60. The Sooners failed to score on their next possession, and a Timmy Allen offensive rebound and putback gave the Longhorns a two-point lead.

Sherfield made a jumper to tie it, but they never tied or led again.

Milos Uzan missed a 3-pointer that would’ve given the Sooners a lead, Rice made four consecutive free throws and the Sooners weren’t able to recover, as they lost 70-69 to the Longhorns at Lloyd Noble Center.

It was a tough loss for the Sooners, who held the lead for over 20 minutes of game time and had a 35-31 advantage at halftime.

“It sucks,” OU forward Jacob Groves said. “There’s nothing fun about losing basketball games, especially to teams like that that we all think we’re better than, especially when we have them on the ropes. Losing games like that sucks. There’s nobody happy in our locker room about that.”

Here’s three takeaways from the Sooners’ loss to open conference play: 1. Grant Sherfield starts hot, slows down in second half The OU guard was the best player on the field in the first half.

Sherfield lifted the Sooners’ offense, scoring 16 points while grabbing three rebounds. He scored six of the Sooners’ 13 first-half baskets, as he carried the team to a four-point lead.

Things were different in the second half.

The Longhorns’ amped up the pressure on him after halftime, limiting Sherfield to six points on 3-of-8 shooting. Jacob Groves hit five 3-pointers in the second half to try to keep the Sooners in it, but it wasn’t enough.

Sherfield finished with 22 points on 9-of-19 shooting.

The Sooners’ offense has struggled at times this season without Sherfield, who played a team-high 36 minutes. OU coach Porter Moser said it’ll be a focus moving forward to not play him too many minutes.

“It’s hard because he means so much to us you don’t want to get him off the floor,” Moser said. “I’ll say the same thing every time. I’ll come back, I’ll see [he played] 36-37 minutes and I’m like, ‘God I’d love to get it around 33, 32.’ But it’s hard because you want him on the floor... Sitting him four or five minutes in a row to get some rest is tough.”

2. Longhorns win the battle of the boards, points in the paint Oklahoma big man Tanner Groves spent significant time on the bench due to foul trouble.

He picked up four fouls, two of them in the first half, which limited him to just 18 minutes. He was productive in his time on the floor, recording six points, a teamhigh seven rebounds, a steal and a block. The Sooners outscored Texas by 10 points while he was on the floor.

But the Longhorns took advantage of his foul trouble. They outscored the Sooners 32-26 in the paint and held a 12-9 advantage on the offensive glass, which led to 12 second-chance points. 11 of Texas’ offensive boards came in the second half.

“The difference was the offensive rebounds,” Moser said. “Under a minute, Timmy Allen came flying in and got an offensive rebound (and made a putback). That was huge. We’ve got to come up with that rebound.

“I thought we really guarded them at a high level until the second half with those rebounds. You can’t give a team that many second chance points in the second half.”

3. Up-and-down performance for Uzan The freshman guard had some bright moments, including leading the team in assists with five. He’s now up to 29 assists in his five starts this season.

Uzan scored five points on 2-of-4 shooting but passed up on some open looks, taking the fewest shots of any player in the starting lineup. He also committed three of the Sooners’ 15 turnovers.

Moser said the message for Uzan is to be aggressive as conference play continues.

“Man there were times where he really sprayed the ball and got guys shots and I want him to be more aggressive,” Moser said. “I just gotta continue to instill some (confidence). When he was not aggressive, that’s when he wasn’t as effective. And he’s just gotta know how much confidence we have (in him).”