Jalon Moore matched his career high of 24 points to propel Oklahoma to a 69-64 win over Louisville and an unlikely title in the Battle 4 Atlantis on Friday in Paradise Island, Bahamas.
Glenn Taylor Jr. provided 12 points off the bench for Oklahoma (7-0), which was picked in the preseason to finish 15th in the 16-team Southeastern Conference.
After taking a 10-point lead late in the first half, Oklahoma never trailed, though Louisville tied it on one occasion in the second half.
The Cardinals had a chance to tie as they trailed 67-64, but Sam Goodwin stole an inbounds pass and Duke Miles followed with two free throws with 5.2 seconds left to sew it up.
Moore, who also scored 24 points in the Sooners’ win over No. 24 Arizona on Thursday in the semifinals, made 7-of-13 shots from the floor and grabbed seven rebounds
The Sooners overcame a 44-23 deficit on the boards and a 25-7 disadvantage on second-chance points. Oklahoma shot 47.7 percent from the field and made 8 of 17 3-point attempts.
J’Vonne Hadley and Chucky Hepburn led Louisville (5-2) with 12 points each. Terrence Edwards Jr. and Noah Waterman added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Hadley and Waterman led the Cardinals’ dominance on the boards with 13 and 11, respectively. Louisville’s rebounding edge came despite the loss of top rebounder Kasean Pryor less than a minute into the second half with a leg injury.
The Cardinals made 38.1 percent of their shots and were a shaky 7 of 32 from behind the arc.
In the first half, neither team led by more than five points until Oklahoma went on an 11-2 run, fueled by a 3-pointer, followed by a four-point play, both by Brycen Goodine.
When Moore closed the spree with a turnaround jumper in the lane, the Sooners had a 37-27 lead with 1:50 left in the half.
A buzzer-beating slam-dunk by Moore gave the Sooners a 39-32 lead at the break.
Early in the second half, with his teammates misfiring, Moore was the only Sooner who scored in the first 8:40 of the period. But his nine points in that span kept Oklahoma in command.
Reyne Smith tied for Louisville with 5:06 left with a 3-pointer but Taylor scored the Sooners’ next six points to keep them in charge.
