Christian James scored a game-high 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Oklahoma to an 85-80 victory over Notre Dame in the first game of the Jimmy V Classic on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden.
Despite an 18-point performance from TJ Gibbs, Notre Dame (6-2) was dealt its first loss since Nov. 14, ending a four-game winning streak. Juwan Durham and John Mooney had 15 each, and DJ Harvey finished with 11.
Oklahoma improved to 7-1 with its third straight win. Brady Manek chipped in with 17. Aaron Calixte finished with 12 and Matt Freeman had 11.
The first meeting between the programs was a back-and-forth affair throughout.
Leading by seven at the start of the second half, Oklahoma extended its lead to 47-36 after Calixte knocked down a jumper.
The Irish replied with a 21-9 run, capped by a Juwan Durham dunk to close within 57-56.
Seconds after Durham’s jam, a James layup allowed Oklahoma to push its lead to three, and the Sooners would lead by as much as seven following a Freeman 3. But the Irish would not go away, cutting the deficit to 78-77 after Prentiss Hubb’s layup with 2:26 left.
That was as close as Notre Dame would come.
James’ jumper pushed the lead back to three, and he drilled a 3 to give the Sooners an 83-78 lead.
Oklahoma outscored Notre Dame 12-6 in the final 4:26 of the first half and led 43-36 at halftime. The Irish had won four straight entering Tuesday’s game.
