Oklahoma’s Elijah Harkless went toe-to-toe with Oklahoma State’s Cade Cunningham and gave as good as he could.

But Cunningham was just something different in his first Bedlam game.

Because of a sensational Cunningham performance, the Sooners are finding themselves having to bounce back once again after a 94-90 overtime loss Saturday afternoon.

A tough, hard-fought defeat only compounded by the head-scratching loss at Kansas State on Tuesday, and OU has gone from 9-4 in Big 12 play to 9-6 and staring another Bedlam game in the face in Stillwater on Monday night.

As it’s said, it’s the Big 12 grind, and you can’t dwell on it.

“It’s very important. Both teams have the same challenge, bounce back very quickly and learn from this ballgame the things you want to do differently,” head coach Lon Kruger said. “Then get right back at it on Monday. It was a good battle today and anticipate another one on Monday.”

Cunningham became the proverbial one-man show during the latter stages of the second half and overtime on his way to scoring 40 points with 11 rebounds.

Add in six turnovers, too, because Harkless and Jalen Hill made Cunningham work for that 40-spot. Unfortunately for OU, though, Cunningham was up to the challenge.

Harkless had five steals and had great battles with Cunningham on the perimeter. But when OSU put Cunningham down in the post, his size was usually just too much.

“He was terrific, obviously, with a stat line like that,” Kruger said. “I thought our guys made him work for it. To his credit. He made a lot of big-time shots, made some tough shots. Good players are capable of doing that, and he did. He had a terrific night, and we have to try to find a way to slow him down a little bit Monday.”

OU finally ran out of answers and counters during the final couple of minutes of overtime. De’Vion Harmon tied his career high with 23 points, while Austin Reaves pitched in with 22 points, eight assists and six rebounds but also five turnovers in playing all 45 minutes.

Reaves, though, couldn’t make magic happen, and he admits the offense stalled a bit, especially late in the game.

“You can put that one on me. I wasn't good. I had too many forced shots that led to nothing, honestly,” Reaves said. “That's basically it. You go back and watch the film and that's what it will show. Really just put that on me.”

Trailing 75-73 in the closing seconds, Reaves was able to drive to the hole and feed to Brady Manek for the game-tying score with 7.4 seconds left to force overtime.

In overtime, though, even when OU did do what it needed to defensively, the Sooners couldn’t get a stop. OSU outrebounded OU 45-28, including some crucial offensive boards in the extra five minutes.

“Yea, couple of (missed) three huge rebounds at critical times that we couldn’t get back,” Kruger said. “One of them might have been a long bounce, but again, you have to get five guys down in there and understand the value of getting it back and get it done. And we didn’t on too many occasions on their offensive boards.”

It does not get any easier, with OU at Oklahoma State on Monday and coming back home vs. Texas on Thursday. The Sooners have fared so well during so many difficult stretches this season, but after losing back-to-back games, this upcoming week will be their toughest mental test yet.

Note

*It was a huge outing by sophomore guard De’Vion Harmon. To go along with those 23 points, he also had four rebounds and two assists.

Harmon continues to start well, but he was able to carry over that efficiency and energy into the second half. Harmon notched 14 of his 23 in the first half.

“I just want to win. I just want to win,” Harmon said. “And we didn't do that. Yeah, I played a really good win but we didn't win and W's is all that matter. They get to go the hour-and-a-half drive back to Stillwater and laugh and joke and we've got to be there and see what we've got to do to get a win on Monday. All that matters is winning and I'm going to keep that mindset.”

Quotable

“I'm sure you all — I mean, I hope you all can see it, if you all watch basketball. I hope you all can see it. It's not out there for nothing. He was out there. He willed his team to win and that's what players like him do. We've just got to ... It's just a little bit. Little touches, little details, like I said, on the defensive end, even on the offense, not giving up so many possessions, kind of — you've got to chip away, got to get those because those points matter toward the end. But we'll — I keep saying it, man — we're going to be good. We're going to be good. We'll be fine. We get another big-time opportunity to go get one on the road in Stillwater on Monday night. We look forward to the opportunity with blood in our mouths and eyes wide open.” – Harmon on Cunningham and get a second crack at OSU on Monday