Sooners beat Louisville to win Battle 4 Atlantis behind Jalon Moore’s 24

Jalon Moore had his best performance as a Sooner in Thursday’s win over No. 24 Arizona.

On Friday he decided to outdo himself. The senior finished the game with 24 points, matching his performance from Thursday, and seven rebounds as he led the Sooners to a 69-64 victory over Louisville to capture the Battle 4 Atlantis championship.

Moore was the Sooners’ undisputed engine, and he managed efficient shooting as Louisville refused to go away. Moore shot 7 of 13 from the floor and made two 3-pointers, and he made eight of nine free throw attempts. He scored the Sooners’ first nine points of the second half, which was crucial as Louisville opened the half with an 8-2 run.

Moore also added a team-best seven rebounds. He finished the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament averaging 18 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.

Here are a few more notes about the game:

– The Sooners held the lead for nearly 32 minutes but were never in complete control. They led 39-32 at halftime, but Louisville cut the lead to one point at two different points in the second half, tying the game 58-58 with 5:06 left.

The Cardinals had possession with eight seconds left and were down by just three points, but Sam Godwin tipped in the inbounds pass and it ended with Duke Miles.

Miles made both free throws and secured the win.

— Jeremiah’s fears had his first tough game in his young college career. He spent most of the first half on the bench because of foul trouble, and Louisville committed to slowing him down in the second half. They routinely ambushed him in pick-and-roll coverage and made it difficult for Fears to get to the rim.

It’s a learning moment for Fears, who finished with 10 points (3/8 shooting), four assists and four turnovers. He had a big layup late in the game that helped seal the win.

Still, it was a very impressive tournament for the true freshman, who averaged 22 points, 3.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game.

— Luke Northweather made another 3-pointer against Louisville and finished his tournament run with five made 3s on 10 attempts.

— Fears wasn’t the only one who had problems. Kobe Elvis finished with just four points on 2/7 shooting but led the team with seven assists.

— Glenn Taylor Jr. some provided gigantic additional rating as a compliment to Moore. He finished with 12 points on 4/6 shooting, and eight of those points came in the second half.

Outside of Moore and Taylor, the Sooners shot 9 of 24 from the floor.

— Brycen Goodine continues to showcase his outside shooting. Against Louisville, he contributed seven points and two 3-pointers off the bench.

— The Sooners’ win was particularly impressive considering they were outscored 21-4 on offense. The Cardinals had a 25-7 lead in second-chance points. The Sooners lost the comeback battle 44:23.

But like this season, the Sooners will have to combat their rebounding problems with forced turnovers and steals. The Sooners had 10 turnovers compared to Louisville’s 13 and won the battle for points without turnovers 13-9.

— Fears wasn’t the only one in trouble. Duke Miles only played xx minutes and had four fouls, including a technical early in the game, and Sam Godwin – who continues to have trouble drawing fouls – had three.

— Suddenly the Sooners are 7-0 and champions of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament. One of their wins is over No. 24 Arizona on Thursday.

This program really gets going now.

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