Brandon Garrison made the play to save Kentucky’s win in Oklahoma. Then things got testy
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Game day: No. 17 Kentucky 83, Oklahoma 82
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Wednesday night’s men’s basketball game between Kentucky and Oklahoma in Norman, Okla.
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At one moment, Brandon Garrison was in the face of Jeremiah Fears, an act of emotion that seemed on the verge of sparking a full-on brawl.
And just a few minutes later, that same Brandon Garrison was sitting at a table, a big smile on his face and 1-year-old son Akarii in his lap, fawning over the toddler and basking in the glory of Kentucky’s 83-82 victory against Oklahoma.
It was one wild night for the Wildcat.
Garrison, a McDonald’s All-American who grew up about 20 miles from OU’s campus, played his first season of college basketball at rival Oklahoma State and ended up at Kentucky out of the transfer portal last spring, kept the Cats in it during the first half.
The 6-foot-10, 250-pound sophomore — a player who attempted exactly zero 3-pointers as a freshman and was 7-for-24 from deep before Wednesday night — canned two long-range shots in the early going against the Sooners.
With starting center Amari Williams picking up his second foul before the first TV timeout of the game, Garrison had eight points in 13 minutes during the first half. And though it was Otega Oweh — a former Oklahoma Sooner — who provided Kentucky’s offense at the end, Garrison still played a major role in the Wildcats’ victory.
And while the win came in a hostile environment, there were plenty of friendly faces in the crowd.
Garrison was one of three UK players with Oklahoma ties — Jaxson Robinson is also a native of the state, and Oweh played two seasons for the Sooners — and the other Kentucky players pooled their allotment of game tickets so that trio could fulfill personal requests.
No one had a longer guest list than Garrison, who ended up with nearly 40 friends and family members in the Lloyd Noble Center.
“It’s just always good to come back home and play in front of your crowd,” he said. “I got a lot of fam out there. So many of them came out, so it was just good. I’m just glad I got the dub back home.”
As he finished speaking, the friendliest face of all made his presence even more known.
Garrison’s 1-year-old son started into a toddler babble that drew smiles and laughter from the room. Mark Pope looked down lovingly at the kid.
“Akarii will take any questions that you have,” the UK coach quipped.
Emotions were running a little hotter just a few minutes earlier.
After Oweh hit a shot to give Kentucky an 83-82 lead with 6.1 seconds left, Fears took the ball the length of the court and tried to answer with a game-winning basket of his own. Oweh contested the shot from behind.
“I got a little bit,” he claimed afterward.
Garrison got a lot more.
The UK big man was officially credited with the block — with one second left — and that’s the play that cemented Kentucky’s victory over the Sooners.
As Koby Brea grabbed the rebound and scampered down the court to run out the clock, Garrison — a ball of emotion — turned and found Fears, then got right in the freshman’s face. Williams immediately grabbed his younger teammate from behind to pull him away from the fray. Before the 7-footer could get Garrison out of there, however, Oklahoma forward Jalon Moore spotted the scene and made a move toward Garrison, referees rushing to get in between them.
Williams quickly pushed Garrison all the way across the court, while Moore started to follow.
Garrison ended up on the same side of the court as the Oklahoma student section, and a verbal back and forth ensued.
“My emotions got a little hot when I got the block and realized we got the win,” he said. “I forgot what I said, but yeah, I’m just glad I got the block.”
There was a delay before the game was ruled official. Oklahoma coach Porter Moser said he was told that the referees were reviewing whether a technical had been called while there was still time on the clock. They ultimately decided there hadn’t been.
Moser seemed to have no problem with the no call in that situation.
“It was two teams going at it,” he said. “I think it was two teams, competitive, going at it. That was a high-level game, and you got two teams in February wanting to win. They were both playing hard, and that was part of it.”
Garrison ended up with 12 points, four rebounds, three blocks and three steals in 27 minutes, just his fifth game scoring in double figures this season and tying a season high for playing time.
“There were some questions about just the chippiness in the game,” Pope said. “It’s that time of year. Like, we’re just in that time of year, guys. We’re down to the final few games, and then it’s postseason play. … I do think our guys had an experience tonight that they will call back on when we get in a very similar game. And so I love that. I love that we have that in our pocket.”
This story was originally published February 27, 2025 at 2:28 AM.
