Oklahoma Downs No. 25 Arkansas 88-79 In OT
Dec. 23, 2000
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By OWEN CANFIELD AP Sports Writer
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) - No. 18 Oklahoma found its shooting touch just in time against 25th-ranked Arkansas.
The Sooners, struggling most of the night and trailing by nine late in regulation, went 5-of-6 from the floor in the final 1:41 to force overtime, then pulled away to win 88-79 Saturday.
Hollis Price scored all 21 of his points after halftime, including nine in overtime, and Daryan Selvy had 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Sooners, who tied a season low with 40 percent shooting.
"I believe in Santa Claus," Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson said. "That was a game that I'm not sure until the last two minutes that we even deserved to win."
Oklahoma (9-1) twice trailed by 12 in the second half and faced a 69-60 deficit after Brandon Dean converted a three-point play with 1:55 to go.
But Arkansas (7-3) made just one field goal the rest of regulation and missed three of six free throws.
"I thought all we had to do is manage the clock," coach Nolan Richardson said of the nine-point lead. "When it gets to that point, you're no longer playing OU. Now you're playing the clock. It was very poorly managed, which gave OU a chance to win the game."
The score was 70-62 before Tim Heskett hit a short jumper and Kelley Newton sank consecutive 3-pointers to get the Sooners within 72-70 with 34 seconds left. Two free throws by Price with 24.3 seconds remaining made the deficit 73-72.
Carl Baker made one of two from the line with 23.2 remaining to give the Razorbacks a two-point lead. Aaron McGhee missed from the right baseline for Oklahoma, but Selvy grabbed the rebound and scored to tie it with 10.9 remaining.
Baker took a jumper from the right baseline as time wound down, but the ball hit the front of the rim.
A drive through the lane by Price gave Oklahoma a 77-76 lead in the first minute of overtime. The Razorbacks tied it a short time later with a free throw, but two free throws by Selvy and two more by Price gave the Sooners control for good.
"I thought Hollis was very passive, confused, I thought he was poorly coached there for a long time," Sampson said. "Then all of a sudden he started getting to the rim.
"When he started attacking, then we became pretty good. Then our defense down the stretch was really good."
Nolan Johnson scored 18 for Oklahoma, 16 in the first half. The Razorbacks led by as many as 11 in the first half, but scored only once on their final seven possessions and Oklahoma got within 35-33 at halftime.
Jannero Pargo scored 14, and Joe Johnson had 10 points and 13 rebounds for Arkansas.
