The Oklahoma Sooners college basketball team squeaked out a close win over North Carolina Central in overtime 71-63.
The Lloyd Nobel Center faithful was shell-shocked when Oklahoma had to tie the game up to send the game into overtime.
Check out Sooners Basketball Examiner Mike Aiken's coverage of the game here.
It wasn’t supposed to be this tough. North Carolina Central is a team that is still transitioning into a Div. I college basketball school and finished 2009-10 with a 7-22 record. Sure, the Eagles returned their best eight scorers from last season but this was Oklahoma in Norman.
Despite the rebuilding process Jeff Capel is facing, Oklahoma is still 79-2 at home against non-conference college basketball teams since January 3, 2000. Yet, somehow, Oklahoma trailed the entire second half until Steven Pledger sank a 3-pointer off a broken play to tie the score with 15 seconds left.
“I was happy to see him step up with confidence and shoot,” Capel said after the game. “All of our guys lost confidence shooting the ball because we couldn’t make a shot. Steve stepped up. We think Steve is a really good shooter. He’s a guy that should never lose confidence in himself.”
Oklahoma only shot 28-percent in regulation and only hung in with 23-of-27 free throws. It also helped that Andrew Fitzgerald scored 22 points.
Finally, in overtime, Oklahoma played like Oklahoma is supposed to play college basketball. Nick Thompson scored back-to-back shots to start overtime. Cade Davis drained a 3- from the corner while Thompson fed Newell for a fast-break layup. With two minutes left in overtime, Oklahoma led 67-60 and finally had control.
“It just kind of happened, I guess,” Thompson said. “It’s not like I went in there thinking I was going to go score and get an assist. We just played and it ended up being me. It could have been Steve, it could have been anybody. They just found me at the right time.”
North Carolina Central, which is reclassifying from Division II to Division I college basketball, was trying to snap a 40-game losing streak on the road. They nearly pulled it off against an Oklahoma team coming off a losing season and with nine newcomers on the roster.
“Give them all the credit,” Capel said. “This game will help us be better. Somewhere down the road we will learn a lesson from this.”
Comments
Nice win Oklahoma Sooners!
Yes it was!!!
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