Jacob Groves leads OU men's basketball to dominant win over Central Arkansas

Jacob Groves scores 26, OU men beat Central Arkansas

Jacob Groves scored 19 of his career-high 26 points in the first half, and the OU men's basketball team cruised to an 87-66 victory over Central Arkansas on Saturday at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman.

Groves was 8 of 10 with four 3-pointers and two dunks as the Sooners shot 70% (21 of 30) to build a 52-30 halftime lead. He finished 10-of-13 shooting overall.

Central Arkansas pulled to 72-59 with 8:31 to play. The Sooners then scored the next 10 points, highlighted by an Otega Oweh layup and a pair of dunks, to stretch the lead to 23 points with about five minutes left.

Grant Sherfield added 17 points for OU (8-3). Tanner Groves had 14 points and Oweh 10. Jacob Groves and Oweh combined for six of the Sooners’ seven steals.

The Sooners shot a season-best 64% (35 of 55) from the field, made 9 of 18 from long range, and scored 21 points from 13 turnovers. They also had six dunks.

Camren Hunter scored 18 points to lead Central Arkansas (5-6). Collin Cooper added 12 points and Eddy Kayouloud had 11 points to go with nine rebounds.

OU faces Florida on Tuesday in the Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte, N.C.

More:OU men's basketball falls to No. 9-ranked Arkansas in not-so-neutral Tulsa environment

Timberwolves defeat Thunder despite third-quarter run

The dazzle of the third-quarter run didn’t carry through the end of the game.

Although Oklahoma City headed into the fourth quarter with a sudden advantage, Minnesota dismantled that lead. Without star center Rudy Gobert, the Timberwolves regrouped to defeat the Thunder, 112-110, in a seesaw matchup Friday night at Paycom Center, extending OKC’s losing streak to five games.

Only two days after dropping a 110-108 matchup to Miami, the Thunder let another close one slip away.

At the end of the third quarter, the Thunder had no reason to mope. Aaron Wiggins’ 3-pointer capped an 11-0 run that put OKC up 91-88.

But the sparkle faded in a tight fourth quarter.

With 11.8 seconds left, Austin Rivers knocked down a 3, increasing the Timberwolves' lead to 111-107.

OKC never regained its momentum.

More:How did Shai Gilgeous-Alexander grow into an OKC Thunder superstar? Look to July 11, 2019

Comeback-king Vikings set NFL rally record in win vs. Colts

The Minnesota Vikings completed the biggest comeback in NFL history, erasing a 33-point deficit by beating the Indianapolis Colts 39-36 on Greg Joseph's 40-yard field goal with 3 seconds left in overtime on Saturday in Minneapolis to clinch the NFC North division in their typical dramatic fashion.

Kirk Cousins passed for 460 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Vikings (11-3), who trailed 36-7 late in the third quarter and became just the third team in league history to win 10 games in one season by eight points or fewer.

The Colts (4-9-1) stumbled onto the infamous side of the list, just ahead of the Houston Oilers in the 1992 postseason when they blew a 32-point lead (35-3) and lost to Buffalo (41-38) in overtime. According to Sportradar data, this was only the second loss in 1,551 regular-season or playoff games in the league since 1930 in which a team had a 30-plus-point lead and lost.

The Vikings took this rally all the way to their second possession of OT, after punting on their first one. Cousins hit K.J. Osborn — who had a touchdown and a career-high 157 yards — for 15 yards, Adam Thielen for 21 yards and Justin Jefferson for 13 yards to move into range.

Ifeadi Odenigbo was called for delay of game for lying on Jefferson to try to keep the Vikings from setting up for the kick, putting Joseph 5 yards closer for the winner.

More:Tramel's ScissorTales: Wild 48 hours lets Baker Mayfield reinvigorate NFL career with Rams

Extra points

Fenway Bowl: Jawhar Jordan ran for 115 yards, breaking free for two long touchdowns, and Louisville beat erstwhile rival Cincinnati 24-7 on Saturday in the twice-delayed first edition of the Fenway Bowl at the chilly home of the Boston Red Sox. With a gridiron laid out over the diamond and “Fenway Park” in the end zones using the baseball team's traditional font, Jordan scored from 49 yards out at the end of the first quarter and 40 at the end of the second to help clinch the Keg of Nails for Louisville.

Celebration Bowl: Quarterback Davius Richard ran for 97 yards and two touchdowns, including a 1-yard scoring plunge in overtime, and North Carolina Central beat Jackson State 41-34 in Saturday’s Celebration Bowl in Atlanta to spoil coach Deion Sanders' bid for an undefeated season in his final game with the Tigers. The Eagles' defense made a goal-line stand on Jackson State's first overtime possession to preserve the win and end the game regarded as the championship of teams from historically Black college and universities. Sanders is taking over the football program at Colorado but wanted to finish the season with his Tigers first. Jackson State quarterback Shedeur Sanders will accompany his father to Boulder.

World Cup: Luka Modric led Croatia to third place in what was likely the midfield great’s last appearance at the World Cup. The runners-up from four years ago secured another medal by beating Morocco 2-1 in the third-place match on Saturday in Al Rayyan, Qatar. Mislav Orsic scored the decisive goal shortly before halftime at Khalifa International Stadium to ensure Modric finished on a winning note, if this does turn out to be his last World Cup match.

College basketball: Jarace Walker scored 17 points and No. 5 Houston used runs in each half and the nation's best scoring defense to beat No. 2 Virginia 69-61 on Saturday in Charlottesville, Virginia. Marcus Sasser and Tramon Mark each added 13 points for the Cougars, who used a 10-2 run early in the second half to open a 40-30 lead.

-Staff and wire reports

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Jacob Groves scores 26, OU men's basketball team tops Central Arkansas