Jeremiah Fears sinks wild 4-point play to lift No. 11 Oklahoma past No. 24 Michigan at Jumpman Invitational

It took a four-point play in the final seconds, but Jeremiah Fears kept the Sooners perfect on Wednesday night.

Fears sank a contested 3-pointer from the wing with just 11.5 seconds left on the clock and drew a foul as he was knocked to the court. That shot tied the game up, and then the 18-year-old freshman sank the free throw to lift No. 14 Oklahoma to an 87-86 win over No. 24 Michigan at the Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte.

The win pushed Oklahoma to a perfect 11-0 on the season. It’s the program’s best start since the 2015-16 campaign.

Michigan seemed well on its way to winning on Wednesday night, and even built up an 11-point lead with less than 10 minutes to go in the game. But the Sooners mounted a huge 15-4 run late in the period to get right back in the game, and then held Michigan scoreless for the final 70 seconds to set up their final play.

Vladislav Goldin led Michigan with 26 points and 10 rebounds, and Danny Wolf finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds. The Wolverines went just 4-of-28 from behind the arc as a team. The loss marked their second straight, too, following a two-point loss to Arkansas last week.

Fears finished with a career-high 30 points in the win while shooting 8-of-12 from the field. He went 3-of-4 from behind the arc, too. Duke Miles added 17 points, and Jalon Moore finished with 16 points and four rebounds. They were the only three Sooners to hit double figures in the win.

The Sooners will host both Central Arkansas and Prairie View to end their nonconference slate. Their first SEC game since making the jump to the conference will be at No. 6 Alabama on Jan. 4, which should provide a huge test for Fears and the Sooners. Based on their start, however, they seem more than capable of hanging with the Crimson Tide at the top of that conference in the coming months.