So much had been written and talked about when it came to Porter Moser coaching his first game at Oklahoma that it’s almost like somebody forgot to tell Northwestern State.

This was supposed to be a feel-good, relaxing evening. It eventually got there, but Moser’s initial contest with the Sooners was a battle for a while before OU took care of business 77-59 on Tuesday night against the Demons at Lloyd Noble Center.

A first half where not a lot went right and a narrow 28-25 lead brought a little tension to the room. That was quickly alleviated by Jalen Hill as OU ran off a 10-0 run to take a 38-27 lead and never looked back.

“We didn't start off the game that great. We kind of started off real slow, but I just felt like as a team we needed to bring more heart,” Hill said. “I felt like that could have started with me, so I just wanted to bring energy and help the team and get us over the hump.”

Hill had a steal where he kept fighting for the ball that led to him making a lay-up. It only made the score 30-27, but the intensity picked up across the board.

The Sooners were coming off an exhibition game where they couldn’t miss. In a way, this was a learning experience, a teachable moment for Moser to show that even if the shot isn’t falling, figure it out. There are other ways to contribute.

“You have to find other ways. That’s a good lesson for a couple of the other guys,” Moser said. “If your shot’s not falling, what other value are you going to bring to the table? Jalen had eight rebounds. He had three steals. He had three assists. He had a blocked shot. But he got his athleticism into the game. He’s really athletic. He’s 6-6. When he gets that into the game on the boards and transition, that’s what I thought he did tonight.

“I think that’s the thing tonight with a couple of guys. If they’re not making shots, they can’t hang their heads. They have to find other ways to bring value.”

Hill scored 12 of his 15 points in the second half and added the eight rebounds.

One part was the returner in Hill carrying the load, and the other was the newcomer and maybe eventual leader of the team in Tanner Groves.

Groves admitted there were nerves galore playing his first game at OU after the years at Eastern Washington, but he acclimated himself just fine.

“But after the first four or five minutes I was able to kick the nerves and get it going,” Groves said. “And I think that's probably the same for the rest of the guys. We have a new team and new coaching staff and everyone's a little on edge.

“Everyone wants to do well, so everyone had a little nerves. But, that's fine. And I think we were able to get past that and get focused on the game and focus on our defense and get points and scoring. So, I think we did a good job of that.”

Groves had 15 points and nine rebounds.

Notes

*Moser really loved the way Jordan Goldwire ran the team. The transfer from Duke had nine points and four assists with zero turnovers.

“I thought Jordan Goldwire really controlled the game,” Moser said. “I thought he was terrific. Four assists and zero turnovers and he could have had 10 assists but we were missing shots. I thought his energy level, pushing the ball, he did a ton of good things.”

Goldwire left the game with a cramp, but Moser did not seem concerned about any long-lasting effects going forward.

*OU (1-0) hosts UTSA at 7 p.m. Friday.

Quotable

“My emotions were the same. I get excited to play and compete. I was so focused on what we had to do playing-wise, it really wasn’t about me just coaching at OU. It really wasn’t. It was about beating Northwestern State. I really wanted to play well. I wanted our guys to play well. It was more about that – executing and seeing where we were at than the first game. It was more about where we were at.” – Moser on his first-ever OU game