NORMAN — The game was there for Oklahoma.

With the Sooners leading LSU by five points and fewer than 25 seconds to go, the game seemed like simply a formality.

Instead, the Sooners somehow grabbed defeat from the jaws of victory, falling to LSU 82-79.

And it happened with a comical series of errors.

Out of a timeout, and with 20 seconds to go, Jalon Moore fouled LSU Cam Carter as he drilled a 3-pointer. The four-point player cut the Oklahoma lead to one point.

"We’re in defensively called a ‘no jump situation,'" OU coach Porter Moser said. "No matter what, we’re not jumping. Not contesting the shot, on a drive. It’s a no jump situation, and he jumped. Fouled a 3-point shooter."

On the ensuing inbounds the Tigers sent a double-team at Moore, who turned the ball over trying to make a pass across the court. The ball found Carter again, who drove to the rim and made a layup as he was fouled by Miles.

Carter made the free throw. In the span of 12 seconds, the Sooners went from leading by five to trailing by two.

Jeremiah Fears drove down the floor and forced an off-balance shot, which missed. The Tigers were fouled and made a free throw with 0.8 seconds to go, sealing the victory and leaving a stunned crowd at the Lloyd Noble Center.

"My faith has always been the foundation," Moser said. "Sometimes you don’t know why the good Lord puts you in these positions. The only thing I know how to do is to pour into these young men and teach them and show them how to be better and close out these tough games. You get in a rut like that, you almost play not to lose. We did some things.

"The fouling of four 3-point shooters. we missed a layup up seven, like a point-blank earlier. It was a six-point swing. We missed the layup, and we fouled a 3-point shooter."

The loss drops the Sooners to 16-9 on the season and 3-9 in SEC play. The Sooners have now lost four games in a row.

— While the Sooners led by five with 24 seconds to go, there were numerous points in the game where OU could've extended the lead.

They led the Tigers 20-10 midway through the first half before the Tigers fought back to cut it to six before halftime. The Sooners' biggest lead came when they led 46-33 with under 15 minutes to go in the game, though the Tigers battled back to tie it at 59-59 with under eight minutes to go.

— The Tigers came into the game ranked 15th in the SEC in scoring and 13th in defense. They boasted a 1-10 record in conference play.

Those offensive struggles were on display particularly in the first half, when they shot 38% from the field, 27% from the 3-point line and 43% from the free throw line.

— The Sooners finally got some production from Kobe Elvis, who has operated as the sixth man over the last couple of weeks. Elvis provided a lift off the bench, finishing with eight points while shooting 4-of-9 from the floor.

But otherwise, the Sooners didn't get standout production. Fears finished with 15 points on 5-of-15 shooting, and Moore finished with 14 points on 3-of-10 shooting. The Sooners shot 41% as a team and a ghastly 17% from the 3-point line.

— The Sooners came into the game ranked first in the SEC in both made free throws (400) and free-throw shooting percentage (80%) despite shooting the ninth-most attempts in the conference.

That looked like that would be the difference in this one. The Sooners shot 26-of-32 (81%). LSU shot just 17-of-30 (57%). Ultimately, the Tigers made them when they counted.

— The Sooners were firmly on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament coming into the game. But with the loss to an LSU team that is at the bottom of the SEC standings, the path becomes much murkier. The Sooners are now 3-9 in SEC play, and five of their six remaining regular-season games are against ranked opponents.

— Up next: The Sooners head to Florida for a 6 p.m. game on Tuesday (ESPN2).