Oklahoma frustrate No. 12 Arkansas in 1st loss of season

Updated Dec. 11, 2021 4:56 p.m. ET

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TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Elijah Harkless scored 21 points and Oklahoma handed No. 12 Arkansas its first loss of the season, frustrating the Razorbacks' coach and top shooters in an 88-66 romp Saturday.

Playing at a neutral site less than two hours from both schools, Oklahoma (8-2) rushed to a 13-0 lead in the first 4:37, helped by two 3-pointers and a drive by Harkless.

Arkansas (9-1) never caught up and coach Eric Musselman was assessed two technical fouls and ejected with 3:30 to play. He was restrained by his assistant coaches while arguing with an official, and Jordan Goldwire hit four free throws that made it 76-57.

JD Notae, who had been leading the Razorbacks with nearly 19 points a game, was held to 13 on 3-for-14 shooting.

Davonte Davis scored a career-high 26 for Arkansas.

Tanner Groves had 16 points, including a 3-pointer that pushed OU’s lead to 69-57 with 6:02 left and seemed to deflate the Razorbacks. Goldwire scored 14, Umoja Gibson 12 and Jalen Hill 11.

The Sooners shot 54.9% from the field, including making 13 of 22 3-pointers. They limited to Arkansas to 21 of 61 (34%), including 7 of 24 on 3s.

Down by 15 early in the second half, Arkanas closed to with 57-54 on three free throws by Notae with 9:55 left, but the Sooners pulled away steadily from there.

BIG PICTURE

Arkansas: Will have to search for ways to generate more consistent offense on nights when Notae is struggling. Davis picked up a lot of the slack but second-leading scorer Au’Diese Toney finished with just six points on four shots.

Oklahoma: Looked much more cohesive on both ends after dropping a home game to Butler earlier in the week. The Sooners have two non-conference tuneups under new coach Porter Moser remaining before Big 12 play begins Jan. 1.

UP NEXT

Arkansas: Plays Hofstra Dec. 18 at North Little Rock.

Oklahoma: Returns home to play UT Arlington on Dec. 18.

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More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

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JD Notae

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