Men's Basketball Tops LaSalle, 89-72

Nov. 18, 2000

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Post-Game Audio

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) - La Salle didn't have enough guns to cope with No. 21 Oklahoma's tough defense, although one was almost enough.

La Salle's Rasual Butler made seven second-half 3-pointers Saturday night, but Oklahoma pulled away in the final seven minutes and beat the Explorers 89-72 in the championship of the Sooner Invitational.

Butler finished with 33 points and Victor Thomas had 23, but no other Explorer took more than two shots or scored more than five points.

"How good is that guy?" Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson said. "There were four NBA scouts here tonight and they were all here to see Butler and Thomas. They have an advantage. Every time they walk on the floor, they have two pros."

But Oklahoma had six players in double figures, led by J.R. Raymond's 16 points, and outrebounded La Salle 38-22

"Their defense just took us out of our offense," La Salle coach Speedy Morris said. "We knew that would happen. We were disappointed we didn't execute better.

"He (Butler) was just throwing in haymakers. I'd rather see him getting shots off staggered screens and by moving without the ball."

Oklahoma led by as many as 20 in the first half but saw La Salle (1-1) make it a game in the second half.

Butler hit four of his 3s, including one he converted into a four-point play, in a span of just more than three minutes as the Explorers cut a 57-48 deficit to 65-64 with 8:20 remaining.

"I didn't think we were playing bad defense," Sampson said. "Think about it, if he doesn't make those shots, we're probably up 20, 22."

It was 67-66 after a basket by Thomas with 7:11 to play, but La Salle didn't score again for nearly five minutes. Meanwhile, Oklahoma got points from five players in a 14-0 run that made the score 81-66.

Raymond, who was suspended for the two exhibition games and Friday's season opener, returned Saturday and made an immediate impact, scoring 12 in the first half.

Raymond had a 3-pointer and two layups in a 9-4 run that stretched Oklahoma's lead to 26-15 with eight minutes left in the half. A few minutes later, the Sooners went on an 8-0 run that gave them their biggest first-half lead, 37-17.

A 10-0 run by La Salle got the Explorers within 37-27 late in the half.

Aaron McGhee had 15 points, Nolan Johnson 14 and tournament MVP Hollis Price 12 points and seven assists for the Sooners.

The game lasted about 2 hours, 10 minutes and was bogged down by 52 fouls.