NORMAN – Mike Miles didn’t want the screen.
Oklahoma suffered a 72-63 loss to TCU on Monday at Lloyd Noble Center, but not without making a late comeback attempt.
Elijah Harkless split a pair of free throws to trim the deficit to 66-59 with 1:42 left in the contest. Now needing a defensive stop on the other end, the senior guard picked up Miles at half court.
Eddie Lampkin emerged from the paint to set a screen for Miles, but the sophomore point guard waved him off and went to work. Miles hit Harkless with a crossover and barreled into the lane, where he released a scoop layup that kissed the glass before finding the bottom of the net.
The bucket proved to be a dagger, and OU (13-9, 3-6 Big 12) suffered its sixth loss in its last seven games.
Jordan Goldwire finished with 13 points and a team-high four assists. Harkless also tallied 13 points and a pair of steals off the bench.
Here are three takeaways from the contest:
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Physicality remains an issue for Tanner Groves
Lampkin couldn’t be stopped.
TCU trailed 5-4 with 17:40 on the clock when Lampkin gathered a pass at the top of the arc and attacked the rim. The 6-foot-11, 268-pound freshman took a bump from Tanner Groves, but that didn’t stop him from banking in a layup.
Lampkin called for the ball once again on the next possession.
Groves did all he could to stand his ground, but Lampkin still lowered his shoulder before elevating for a hook shot that found the bottom of the net.
Lampkin’s hot start showcased a weakness in Groves that has become apparent during Big 12 play. The 6-foot-10 senior struggles against more physical opponents, which the conference is loaded with.
Groves’ biggest advantage is his ability to spread the floor. He entered Monday’s contest shooting 38.1% from behind the arc, although he went 0-for-3 from deep against TCU.
Groves struggled to contribute as a result. The Eastern Washington transfer finished with four points on 1-for-7 shooting (14.3%) from the floor in 21 minutes.
Groves remains a key piece to OU thanks to his scoring ability, but his impact is limited in games where he faces an unfavorable matchup.
OU is glad to have Ethan Chargois back
Miles almost had it.
After ending a four-game absence by returning for OU’s road battle against No. 1-ranked Auburn on Saturday, Chargois showed out in his first performance at Lloyd Noble Center since Jan. 8.
Chargois started off hot by feeding Umoja Gibson on a cut to the rim for an easy layup with 13:37 left until halftime, but the 6-foot-9 forward wasn’t done showing off his passing prowess.
Chargois launched a fast break a few possessions later by ripping the ball away from Chuck O’Bannon, and he took it upon himself to push the ball down the court. Now under the rim, the SMU transfer zipped a pass through the upright hands of Miles and into the clutches of Jalen Hill for a layup.
Chargois finished with six points, three assists and three boards in 19 minutes.
The return of Chargois is a crucial one for OU. Despite entering Monday’s contest with modest averages of 4.8 points and 1.4 assists in 12.1 minutes per game, the advanced stats show his true impact.
Chargois entered Monday with a team-high effective field goal percentage of 68% and a team-high assist rate of 24. Foul trouble continues to nag the redshirt senior, but his shot creation at the five makes him an asset.
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TCU dominates the glass
TCU held a 48-35 lead with 16:36 left in the game when a 3-point attempt by O’Bannon took a high bounce off the iron.
A battle for positioning broke out between both teams’ bigs down low, but nobody accounted for Damion Baugh. The 6-foot-4 junior came sprinting down the baseline before snagging the board and going back up for a chip shot.
TCU outrebounded OU 42-20. It’s the largest rebounding differential the Sooners have been on the short end of all season.
The Horned Frogs were especially dominant on the offensive glass. They racked up 13 offensive rebounds, which got converted into nine second-chance points.
This marks the sixth game in a row that OU has surrendered double-digit offensive boards. The Sooners are allowing an average of 11.5 offensive rebounds per game during that stretch, which have been converted into an average of 10.7 second-chance points.
Justin Martinez can be reached at [email protected] or @JTheSportsDude on Twitter. Make sure to subscribe to The Oklahoman to stay up to date with all local sports.
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism