LAWRENCE, Kan. — Jordan Goldwire needed one more shot to go down.

OU suffered a 71-69 road loss at the hands of No. 8-ranked Kansas on Saturday, but not before Goldwire made a late comeback crusade.

After scoring 10 of the Sooners' last 12 points to trim the deficit to 71-69 with 14 seconds left, the Duke transfer walked the ball down the court. He was exhausted from playing a team-high 37 minutes, but he gathered the energy to attack the rim with about four seconds remaining.

Goldwire dribbled into the lane and pulled up on the left side for a jumpshot. The crowd at Allen Fieldhouse had been deafening leading up to that point, but it collectively held its breath for a brief moment as the ball glided through the air.

Goldwire's shot collided with the rim and bounced out, sealing the Sooners' fate. OU drops to 14-11 on the season (4-8 Big 12) with the loss.

"I thought Jordan Goldwire did so much," OU head coach Porter Moser said. "He was exhausted. Obviously we would have liked to attack the rim and get them in a scramble situation. It came down to one play and he made 30 to help us put us in that position.

"We definitely wanted to go downhill a little bit more."

Goldwire finished with a team-high 20 points to go along with three assists and just one turnover. Tanner Groves also poured in 19 points and a team-high five assists.

Here are three takeaways from the contest:

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Tanner Groves finds a way to be effective against a tough matchup

Kansas made its game plan known right away.

After winning the tipoff, the Jayhawks immediately fed David McCormack in the paint. The 6-foot-10 senior backed down Groves before turning around for a hook shot that clanked off the rim.

McCormack didn't give up on the play after the miss, though. The veteran center boasts the highest offensive rebound percentage in the nation (19.7%), and he showed that motor off.

McCormack grabbed the offense board. Then he missed a chip shot. Then he grabbed another offensive board. Finally, he got sent to the line after getting fouled.

McCormack tallied seven of Kansas' first nine points as the team continued to test an OU squad that lacks a true rim protector. He finished with 11 points and four rebounds in 18 minutes.

Groves found a mismatch of his own, though.

Despite not being as bruising of a big man down low as McCormack, the Eastern Washington transfer gained an edge by spacing the floor.

OU held a 29-24 lead with 2:43 left in the first half when Groves gathered a pass at the top of the arc and pulled the trigger.

The ball found the bottom of the net, and Groves let out a primal roar as Kansas burned a timeout to regroup. He finished with 19 points on 4-for-11 shooting from deep.

"I thought he was really confident," Moser said of Groves. "He took one off the dribble... We were playing to what we thought we could get."

Groves continues to face opponents with more size and athleticism down low, but his range can serve as the equalizer. The 6-foot-10 center is shooting 36.6% from behind the arc this season.

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OU gains another weapon when Jalen Hill searches for his shot

Jalen Hill could hear OU's bench hyping him up.

OU trailed 46-45 with 14:02 left in the game when the junior forward gathered a pass down low and backed down Ochai Agbaji. As soon as Hill touched the ball, the Sooners' bench began to shout.

"Put him in a basket," the supporting cast hollered.

Hill did his best to make that happen.

The 6-foot-6 forward put his elbow into Agbaji's chest before turning around for a shot. Even though it didn't go in, he drew a foul in the process.

Hill settled for a pair of made free throws, but he made good on his mission the next time down the court. Ethan Chargois fed the big man and watched as he spun off his defender before banking in a chip shot.

Hill gave Kansas all it could handle in the second half.

After tallying just three points in the first half, the Las Vegas native scored seven points the rest of the way. He finished with 10 points on 2-for-5 shooting from the floor and 6-for-8 shooting from the free throw line.

Hill continues to be OU's most reliable rebounder, but Saturday's offensive performance shows another way he can affect the game.

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Christian Braun strikes again

It looked like Christian Braun was out of control.

Kansas held a 61-57 lead with 4:08 left in the game when Braun gathered a pass at the top of the arc. The shot clock was down to about seven seconds as he put the ball on the deck.

With Jacob Groves draped all over him, Braun tried to free himself with a behind-the-back dribble. He nearly lost the ball in a paint that was packed with crimson jerseys, but he didn't panic.

Braun secured possession just in time to release a tough hook shot over his defender, and the ball fell through the hoop for a timely bucket.

Braun had a few of those down the stretch. The Kansas guard entered Saturday averaging 15.1 points per game, and he scored 13 of his 18 points in the second half.

Braun's strong finish is nothing new to OU. He recorded 10 second-half points in the first meeting with the Sooners on Jan. 18 to finish with 15 points and help Kansas earn a 67-64 win.

Justin Martinez can be reached at jmartinez@oklahoman.com or @JTheSportsDude on Twitter. Make sure to subscribe to The Oklahoman to stay up to date with all local sports.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU vs. Kansas men's basketball: Three takeaways from Sooners' loss