It had been a question for Oklahoma coming into the year. With another new-look roster full of experienced players, who would emerge as the top scoring option?

In Wednesday's 79-77 win over Providence, it was Kobe Elvis.

Elvis was the difference maker for the Sooners in a game that saw plenty of back and forth. He scored 12 of the team's 32 first-half points, keeping the Sooners in the game despite Providence nailing nine 3-pointers before halftime.

Elvis kept up in the second half, showing the full arsenal of scoring at the rim, in the midrange and beyond the 3-point line.

Elvis finished the game with a game-high 26 points on 10 of 14 shooting, including three of five from 3, adding three rebounds and a steal.

The fortunate news for the Sooners is that Elvis had a running mate — true freshman Jeremiah Fears.

Fears made his second start of the season and operated as the lead ball handler. He finished with 20 points (4/8 shooting) and made 12 free throws, adding four rebounds while leading the team in assists (7) and steals (4). Fears and Elvis combined for 46 points and were the only Sooners to finish with double digits in scoring, as the backcourt duo helped the Sooners advance to the semifinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in The Bahamas.

Here's a few other notes from the win:

— The Sooners opened the game on an 8-0 run, but lost the lead midway through the first half and then trailed for nearly 17 consecutive minutes.

A big reason why was Providence's outside shooting. Providence shot 9/22 from 3 in the first half, while the Sooners made just two of 10. Fortunately for the Sooners, the Friars shot just three of 10 from the 3-point line in the second half.

— At the 13:22 mark, Luke Northweather gave OU the lead back for good. He hit a pick-and-pop 3-pointer from Fears to give the Sooners a 46-44 lead, then hit another one on the next possession to push the lead to five.

Those were huge, momentum-changing baskets for Northweather, who missed his first three shots of the game. Maybe those shots can spark the third-year player moving forward.

— The Sooners appeared to have the game in hand, but late-game turnovers kept Providence in the game.

Elvis made two free throws with three seconds to go to push OU's lead to 79-75, then chaos ensued. Porter Moser had sent an OU player to the scorer's table to check in after the free throws, but play ensued. The OU player stepped on the floor, and the Sooners were whistled for a technical foul.

Providence got two free throws, made both, then retained possession. Fortunately for the Sooners, Providence missed the potential game-winning 3 as time expired.

— Brycen Goodine returned from a three-game absence. He came off the bench for the Sooners and struggled with foul trouble, but he finished with seven points (two 3-pointers) and led the team with six rebounds in 19 rebounds.

Goodine wasn't the only player to deal with foul trouble. Fears fouled out late in the second half, while Sam Godwin and Goodine sat much of the second half with four fouls apiece.

— The Sooners countered Providence's hot shooting with 13 steals while forcing Providence into 16 turnovers. The Sooners also outscored Providence 30-22 in the paint.

— Porter Moser has not been afraid to empty his bench early this season. 11 different players saw minutes against Providence, and eight of them played at least 14 minutes.

— It was the full Fears experience for the Sooners. While he finished with 20 points, he also committed a game-high eight turnovers and eventually fouled out of the game.

Moser was willing to play Fears through some of the mistakes. That will be something to monitor as the season progresses.

— Jadon Jones remains out with a back issue.

— The Sooners will face either Arizona or Davidson on Thursday in the semifinals at 4 p.m. CT (ESPN).

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