Dayton Forsythe trying to help OU stay the course

It could absolutely be a different vibe for OU basketball these final two weeks of the regular season.

The Sooners knew they needed a miracle late-season run for any chance at an at-large NCAA berth. That did not happen. That door, if it was cracked a bit, was firmly shut with the home loss to Texas A&M on Saturday.

At 13-14 overall and 3-11 in the SEC, you hate to use the ‘p’ word, but hard to say what else is left but pride.

Pride, however, is something this team has shown. And the heart is something that was certainly there for OU guard Dayton Forsythe in the 75-71 loss to the Aggies.

Auburn (15-12, 6-8) at OU (13-14, 3-11)
When: 8 p.m.
TV: ESPNU

Midway through the second half, Forsythe got into a little back and forth with A&M’s Rashaun Agee. You know, just one of the most imposing figures in the SEC.

The refs told them to cool it, and that was the end? Heck no, Forsythe still would not back down against Agee, size means nothing.

That same type of confidence is why Forsythe almost single-handedly led OU to the comeback victory. He scored the final six points of the game for the Sooners. And Forsythe had a potential game-tying 3-pointer fall just a bit short in the final 15 seconds.

Game on the line, trailing 74-71, yea, Forsythe had earned the right for the shot.

“I give the kid a ton of credit,” head coach Porter Moser said. “That kid put everything he had in this game on the line. His effort, his ability to share the ball, led us in assists. He had enough stones to take that shot.

“There are a lot of options on that, saw it, took a pound dribble, had hit one earlier in the game on the same shot. Everybody could believe Dayton would hit that. That kid wanted that shot.”

Forsythe continued his own personal late-season push with a team-high 14 points. He added six assists when the team only had 11 in the game.

And nobody blinked when his number was called. Those ankle injuries are long gone. This is the Forsythe that everybody was hoping would arrive this season.

“It means everything,” said Forsythe about taking the last shot. “Having that confidence with them, it just tells you the kind of teammates and coaches that we have, just putting that belief.

“Even after the game, I missed the shot, it hurt, I was down myself and I had four teammates come up to me and tell me that they wouldn’t have had it any other way. They trust me take that shot again. So it means the world to me.”

Spoiler role?

You just have to be honest about the situation. Even a four-game winning streak to end the regular season would just put OU at 17-14. For the second time in five seasons under Moser, March doesn’t look like it’s going to matter.

But because the games are so good, so big for the competition, you could try to finish strong and remember just how good of a team this could have been.

That begins with Auburn. The Tigers might have had their season-saving moment with a last-second tip-in to beat Kentucky on Saturday.

Now? Hey, go spoil their season. Spoil, pride, not the words you were hoping to describe the final two weeks. But that’s where we’re at, and we’ll all find out together just what the pride for this Sooners club is going down the stretch.