Oklahoma hangs on to beat Providence 79-77 in wild finish at Battle 4 Atlantis

NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) — Kobe Elvis scored 26 points, Jeremiah Fears added 20 and Oklahoma held on to beat Providence 79-77 in a odd finish at the Battle 4 Atlantis on Wednesday.

On Thursday, the Sooners (5-0) will take on the winner of Wednesday's late game between Davidson and No. 24 Arizona. The Friars (5-1) will play the loser.

Elvis was 10-of-14 shooting while Fears, a freshman, was 12 of 14 at the line and had seven assists and four of the Sooners' 12 steals but also eight turnovers. The Sooners shot 51%.

Wesley Cardet Jr. scored 17 points, Jayden Pierre and Bensley Joseph 16 each and Corey Floyd Jr. 13 for the Friars, who shot 43%.

When Duke Miles scored on a transition layup, the Sooners had a nine-point lead with 44 seconds left. But missed Sooners free throws and a traveling call allowed the Friars to rally and get within two. Elvis made two free throws with 3.7 seconds left to seemingly clinch the win. But Oklahoma was called for a technical foul for having too many players on the court when a Sooner apparently entered the court as play was going on before being officially subbed in. Pierre made both technical free throws and Providence took possession in the backcourt. Pierre got off about a 25-footer that went off the back of the rim as time expired.

Oklahoma took the lead for good midway through the second half on consecutive 3-pointers by Luke Northweather.

Providence led 34-32 at halftime behind 11 points from Cardet. Floyd and Cardet hit back-to-back 3s to give the Friars the lead midway through the half and they kept it for the rest of the period.

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