The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

CHAVANO “Buddy” Hield has had some big games in his four years with the Oklahoma Sooners but one of the most memorable came on Monday night, when he canned a three-pointer with 1.3 seconds remaining to help secure a 63-60 victory over the Texas Longhorns.

What was so significant was that Hield and the now No.3 ranked Sooners pulled off the win over the No.24 Longhorns and Andros native Shaquille Cleare. It was the first match-up of two of the Bahamians currently playing division one college basketball this year.

Oklahoma’s head coach Lon Kruger said Hield did what he has been doing for a long time after the win on home court in Norman, Oklahoma.

“He made good plays down the stretch and on that play, he had the option to attack and get to the rim or do what he did,” Kruger said. “It was a tough play, but it was a special shot. I thought their defender did a really good job guarding him, but Buddy still made a tough shot.”

Hield said he just hit a tough shot. “Coach drew the play and I was able to go out and execute it and make the shot,” he said. “I had been struggling all night trying to get a shot off and I finally made the last two.”

Texas’ head coach Shaka Smart was left impressed.

“He’s a terrific player. There’s a reason he’s the best player in the country,” he said. “I thought our guys, for the most of the game, did a really good job on him, given how good a player he is. Down the stretch, he really was aggressive and got to the foul line and obviously hit that big shot.”

Hield, in his starting role in 38 minutes, exploded for a game high 27 points, shooting 7-of-18 from the field, 3-for-10 from the three-point line and 10-for-11 from the free throw line to demonstrate why he is living up to all of the advance billing as the player to watch in the collegiate ranks.

Cleare, in 13 minutes off the bench, only scored two points.

Despite struggling early in the game, Hield scored 12 points in the final 3 minutes 11 seconds and he finished with 21 in the second half.

When asked about his second-half effort, Hield said he was just trying to find a way to grind it out.

“I was just trying to make plays for my teammates,” he said. “My teammates trusted me; coach trusted me with the ball and I was able to get downhill, attack the basket. Just being confident. As a player, you want those big moments and you have to relish it and compete for every bucket that you can.”

Hield made two free throws with 1 minute 19 seconds remaining to put the Sooners up 60-58.

Isaiah Taylor, who led the Longhorns with 19 points, made two free throws with 57.1 seconds to go to tie the game at 60-60. Hield missed a short jumper, but Taylor committed an offensive foul at the other end, giving Oklahoma the chance to set up Hield for the final shot. Hield intercepted Texas’ inbound pass and ran out the clock.

During the course of the season, Hield said his teammates and coaches have put a lot of faith in him and he didn’t want to let them down.

“They always keep our confidence up. Coach does a good job of keeping us together no matter what we go through,” he said. “Texas had us down the whole game by five, six and we cut it down to two and try to tie it up and they go up by five again. So coach kept us together as one group. We never break and were able to pull it out the last few minutes.”

The Sooners, coming off a 80-69 loss on the road to Kansas State on Saturday to get knocked from the No.1 spot in a game that saw Hield finish with 23 points, will be back in action on Saturday when they face Kansas at home again.