WVU Falls to Oklahoma
December 29, 2007 10:58 PM | General
December 29, 2007
BOX SCORE
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Longar Longar scored a game-high 22 points, all in the second half, and freshman Blake Griffin added 18 points and 16 rebounds to lead Oklahoma to a 88-82 double-overtime victory over No. 23 West Virginia Saturday night at the Charleston Civic Center.
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| Da'Sean Butler grabs a rebound in the second half of West Virginia's 88-82 double-overtime loss to Oklahoma in Charleston.
AP photo |
The Sooners rallied over the final nine minutes of regulation, used a desperation fade-away 3 from Tony Crocker in the first overtime, and a dominant stretch from Longar in the second overtime to hand West Virginia (10-2) its second loss of the season.
Longar scored eight points in the second overtime to lead the way for Oklahoma.
“What a great college basketball game,” said second-year Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel. “West Virginia is a very good team. I think we are becoming a very good team. I am very proud of our guys.”
The Mountaineers had their chances, building leads of five in the first overtime and four in the second before the Sooners rallied. West Virginia also led by as many as eight points in regulation when Jamie Smalligan fed Alex Ruoff for a lay up to give the Mountaineers a 51-43 lead.
Oklahoma led 66-64 with just 13 seconds to play after David Godbold hit a pair of free throws. Joe Alexander tried to tie the game on a turnaround jumper but the ball caromed off the side of the backboard on the weak side where Ruoff was there for the follow it up, sending the game into overtime at 66 apiece.
West Virginia started fast in the second overtime with Alexander finding Ruoff for a backdoor lay up and Da’Sean Butler converting a three-point play on a drive to give the Mountaineers a 71-66 lead with 3:17 to play.
After Godbold scored down low to cut the lead to 73-70, Crocker hit his desperation 3 from the top of the key that sent the game into double overtime.
Butler gave WVU another hot start in the second overtime, hitting a jumper and converting a pair of free throws to give the Mountaineers a 77-73 advantage with 3:55 to play. From there the Sooners exploded on an 8-0 run started by a 3 from point guard Austin Johnson and capped by a Longar three-point play to give Oklahoma (10-3) the lead for good at 81-77 with 2:06 to play.
As dominant as Longar and Griffin were it was the Sooners’ guards that impressed West Virginia Coach Bob Huggins the most. Johnson scored 13 points and dished out nine assists, and Godbold added 18 points and seven rebounds.
“Their guards won the game. They were able to penetrate, and then we had to play help defense that let their post players score," Huggins said. “They weren’t scoring it from the post.”
After an ice-cold first half from the field for both teams, Oklahoma found its range in the second half and both overtimes, combining to shoot 20 of 32 over the final 30 minutes. For the game, Oklahoma shot 53.7 percent. The Sooners also made 22 of 35 fouls shots, making as many as the Mountaineers attempted.
West Virginia shot just 41 percent from the floor including a chilly 5 of 24 from 3-point range. The Moutaineers also missed four critical free throws in the overtime sessions. Oklahoma out-rebounded the Mountaineers 45-36.
“We will learn when we are in this situation with Big East teams,” Alexander said. “That will be good for us. We have to lock down defensively one-on-one, and we did that, but it was a little difference in getting a hand in their face.”
Alexander led four West Virginia players in double figures with 21 points. Ruoff added 17 but was just 2 of 8 from 3-point distance. Butler added 15 points, all after halftime.
West Virginia will now open BIG EAST play with a brutal four-game stretch beginning with Thursday night’s tilt at Notre Dame. Tip off from the Joyce Center is set for 7 p.m.
