Huge second half lifts Oklahoma to upset of No. 24 Vanderbilt

Oklahoma’s Jeremiah Fears responded from Tuesday’s scoreless performance against Texas A&M with a team-high 21 points as the Sooners blew out No. 24 Vanderbilt 97-67 on Saturday in Norman, Okla.The Sooners (16-5, 3-5 Southeastern Conference) took their first lead just under two minutes into the second half as part of a 23-0 run to take a 59-42 advantage with 13:24 left in regulation.Oklahoma shot 63.2 percent from the floor — including 72.7 percent when it outscored Vanderbilt 61-27 in the second half — and 55 percent (11 of 20) from 3 for the game. Fears, a freshma guard who was 0-for-5 from the field in the 75-68 loss at No. 13 Texas A&M, was 8-for-12 on Saturday. Teammate Jalon Moore scored 19 points and Dalton Forsythe 14.The Sooners outrebounded the Commodores 39-24, and they dominated the game’s final 25 minutes, holding Vanderbilt to 1 of 12 on 3-pointers in the second half.Devin McGlockton (game-high 22 points) and Jason Edwards (21) led the Commodores (16-5, 4-4) in scoring but had little help.The Sooners got a red-hot start to the second half, hitting their first nine shots, including four from 3, to flip the game quickly.Oklahoma took its first lead of the day with 18:21 left on Brycen Goodine’s 3 from the left side, erasing what had been a 13-point deficit.Goodine hit a 3 from the other side and then Moore added one for a 10-point Sooner advantage.The 23-point run finally ended when Vanderbilt’s Jaylen Carey hit a layup with 13:06 left, cutting the Sooners’ lead to 59-44.

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